Getting To Know You
by teamLNMM
Summary: When the USSR disolved, Iceland openly declared the Baltic nations as independent. As their governments grew closer over the years afterwards, Iceland and Latvia decide to spend more time around one another and become closer in their forming relationship... Unlike what Iceland was imagining, very different results occur from his and Latvia's first outing.
1. Getting To Know You

**This story was all created from a silly little scenario I had created awhile back. After a friend of mine suggested I turn it into a real story, I became completely inspired and all sorts of other scenarios formed inside of my head. **

**Even though it is not stated in the actual series of Hetalia, I do see quite a lot of sense in Iceland and Latvia having a close relationship/friendship. As you will see below this section, there are historical reasons behind it. It makes sense.**

**I will now allow you, the reader, to get to the story. I hope it will be enjoyed, because I have loved writing it. I wanted to portray Iceland and Latvia in the best way I could.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Hetalia" or any of the personified nations.**

* * *

**Getting to Know You**

* * *

**August 1991 – Iceland is the first foreign country to recognize the Baltic nations—Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia—as independent.**

**August 22, 1991 – Iceland and Latvia establish diplomatic relations (Iceland is represented in Latvia through its embassy in Helsinki, Finland. Latvia is represented in Iceland through its embassy in Oslo, Norway, along with an honorary consulate in Reykjavik, Iceland's capital).**

**October 9, 2000 – Indulis ****B****ērziņš****, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, and Kornelius Sigmundsson, Ambassador of the Republic of Iceland and Latvia, signed the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Latvia and the Government of the Republic of Iceland of Co-operation in the Field of Tourism (****B****ērziņš**** expressed positivity of this "new sign in the co-operation between Latvia and Iceland").**

**-o-**

**Iceland suggests to Latvia that he visit him, and further introduce him to his home's culture. Latvia accepts Iceland's invitation. He can't wait to tour the sights of Iceland's home more thoroughly… even though he is shaking with curious nerves.**

**-o-**

* * *

"Wow, it's beautiful!" Latvia exclaimed, as he stood beside Iceland. The two were overlooking the sight of Reykjavik, atop the monument known as Perlan. "The Akrafjall and Esja mountains are so pretty…" he paused and looked up at the silvery haired nation. "Uh… did I say that correctly?"

"Yes, you did," Iceland coolly responded, not looking away from the snow covered peaks. "You pronounced their names well."

Latvia smiled and looked back at the capital's many buildings. A lot of the houses' rooftops' were painted with bright colors that pleased Latvia's eyes. The city of Reykjavik, itself, was just so nice to look at! The fresh scent of the ocean was pleasant, and the day's temperature wasn't bad, either. The winter had already passed, but the air was still crisp with a cool breeze.

Latvia nervously rubbed his left arm with his right hand, as he glanced up at the slightly older, silent nation. _It's so weird. I never thought I'd be forming a closer relationship with someone like Iceland. He's so cool, quiet, and surrounded in mystery…and I'm still a trembling mess, even after all these years._ Latvia looked back to the snowy mountains again, a vague frown upon his lips. _I hope I can be as stable as him, one day. Since this new agreement's been formed, maybe I can get closer to him…watch and learn from him…_ he blushed a little, thinking to himself. _The day's only begun, and he's been so nice, despite his quiet nature. Maybe…_

"So, Latvia, what do you think?"

Latvia snapped out his thoughts, jumping slightly. "Huh?" he quickly turned his gaze to Iceland, who was now looking at him. "O-Oh, about what?"

"My country's capital," he said, "What do you think of it?"

"Oh, it's really nice," Latvia told him, still feeling that stupid blush reddening his face. Before they had come to Perlan, Iceland treated Latvia to breakfast, and, though Latvia had been extremely nervous then, the two had conversed well enough. There had been some awkwardness on both sides, complete with Latvia accidentally blurting out a few odd statements about "the strange meal", but the breakfast time went well, overall. Latvia thought that his nerves had settled out since then, especially after that tour through Reykjavik's central, but they apparently hadn't. _Ugh, I can't communicate well, at all! I'm still struggling! I'm making a complete fool out of myself! _

Iceland tilted his head a little, focusing a bit more closely into the younger boy's eyes. "Are you all right, Latvia? You've been kind of tense, this morning."

Latvia swallowed lightly, feeling a smidge intimidated underneath Iceland's solid gaze. "I-I'm sorry, i-if I have been. I'm just…" he looked down, feeling that his hands had begun to quiver, and sighed. "I'm sorry."

Latvia suddenly felt a hand rest on his shoulder. His shaking stopped, and his breath temporarily stilled. He slowly looked back up at Iceland, whose eyes and expression were still steady.

"You don't need to be," Iceland simply stated, softly patting Latvia's shoulder. "We are just now getting to know each more formally, after all. Maybe a warm mug of specially made cocoa will help settle your nerves?" At the mention of cocoa, Iceland saw Latvia's eyes light up in an innocently childish manner. He internally smiled at this, seeing his reaction.

Anyone who knew Iceland would say that he had a rather stoic personality, like his older brother. While that was partly true, he was not unfeeling. Neither was Norway, for that matter. Despite his cold exterior, Iceland was rather passionately blooded, deep down. He had always wondered about the Baltic nations' treatment during the Soviet Union, and thought of their situations as unfair.

When all of the Baltics had broken ties from the Soviet Union, Iceland jumped to declare them as newly independent. He had established relationships with all of them, but Latvia was the one out of the trio that concerned him the most. They had all endured terrible hardships, but it was plainly obvious that Latvia had been affected the most; his stability was unlike that of Lithuania's and Estonia's, even after over nine years of freedom. Now, that their Ambassador and Latvia's Prime Minister had this Tourism Agreement signed between them, Iceland hoped to become closer to Latvia.

"Well…" Latvia hesitated, "if it isn't a bother to you, that sounds really good."

"Of course it isn't," Iceland replied, removing his hand from Latvia's shoulder. "I'm the one who offered."

The two then began to walk towards the elevator's doors.

"Oh, and Latvia," Iceland began again, "is there anywhere in particular you would like to visit, in my home?"

Latvia thought silently, for a moment. "I've seen a lot of pictures of your many waterfalls. I would love to see one of them, in person."

Iceland nodded once. "Okay, after our drinks and a short lunch, I'll take you to the Gullfoss waterfall."

"Oh, Gullfoss means "Golden Falls", when translated, right?" Latvia asked. "That's what I read, at least."

"You got it right," Iceland told him. "The reason why it's called that is because, on sunnier days, the waterfall's crevice really does appear to look like gold. As you can see, the sun isn't out today, but it's still a sight to see."

Latvia nodded.

"Now, Gullfoss isn't my largest or widest waterfall, but it is my most popular one."

"Because it's close to the capital?"

"Exactly."

* * *

To Iceland, Latvia seemed to be enjoying himself more, as the afternoon went on. That hot cocoa had really relaxed Latvia, as Iceland hoped it would, and he was talking more openly. After a brief lunch of hangikjot (smoked lamb), the two headed out for the Gullfoss waterfall. Iceland had a private helicopter summoned to take them there more quickly, but also so Latvia could view his country from above. Before officially arriving at the falls, the two spent a bit of extra time hovering over the land. From within the helicopter, Iceland pointed out certain viewings, and Latvia gazed at them in deep interest. The trip to the falls was, all in all, very pleasant.

Upon reaching the waterfall, Iceland instructed for the pilot to wait for them on the higher point of the area, while he and Latvia conversed. The pilot did so, after the two boys stepped out of the hovercraft.

_It's a slow day, _Iceland thought, looking around. No one was here. _That's good, though. That just gives me and Latvia privacy to speak._

_How pretty,_ Latvia thought, as he concentrated on the powerful walls of water falling down into the trench before him. The water's spray created a thick mist that tumbled aimlessly around the area's grassy cliffs. He felt intimidated, but wanted to get closer. Latvia went almost as far as he could, by Iceland's side, near the cliff's edge and marveled at the tiered waterfall. The air felt even more cool and refreshing in front of the waterfall. "This is beautiful, Iceland. It really is."

"Thanks," the older nation responded. "I have to say, this particular waterfall holds a lot of sentiment for me."

Latvia turned his gaze to him. "In what way?"

"Sigríður Tómasdóttir."

"What?"

"That's the name of the woman who saved these falls," Iceland told him. "It's thanks to her that the natural beauty of this place still exists."

Latvia's head cocked slightly, in wonder. "Saved?"

"Yes," Iceland told him, nodding once. "She loved these falls like no one else, very passionate about it."

"What did she do to save it?" Latvia asked, wanting to know more.

"During the first half of the twentieth century," Iceland began retelling, "her father actually owned Gullfoss. Also, during that time period, rumors were spread about using this waterfall to harness electricity."

"…Why?"

Iceland sighed once, thinking back. "I don't know how it all started, but, soon enough, investors from other countries rented the waterfall from Sigríður and her father and planned to build a hydroelectric powerplant on these grounds," he looked at Latvia now, "If they had gotten their way, this waterfall would've changed drastically."

Latvia remained quiet, keeping his curious eyes on Iceland's frosty ones.

"Sigríður protested against this strongly, and even went as far as threatening to throw herself into the falls."

Latvia's eyes widened and he gasped internally, as he rotated his head to the waterfall ahead of him. He dared to get a little closer to the cliff's edge, and peered over it. Just like the air around them, the trench below was shrouded in a white haze. He couldn't see anything below him, not knowing how far down the falls traveled. Latvia gulped vaguely, feeling dizzy. He stepped back beside Iceland, shaking away his nerves. _There's no way she would've survived that jump. _

"So that people would believe she was serious," Iceland continued, "she waked barefoot, on a protest march, from here to Reykjavik."

"Barefoot?" Latvia questioned.

"In those days, roads weren't paved," the older boy clarified. "She walked over seventy miles, on a rough, rocky, jagged road."

Latvia cringed, wincing slightly. "That's awful!"

"It really was," Iceland responded, a glint of remembrance in his eyes. "I walked along with those protestors, wanting to preserve this place as well. I walked behind Sigríður, and I can tell you that she never began to give up or back down from what she was set on doing."

Latvia felt awed at hearing of this woman's strength and determination. He briefly wondered if he could have done the same thing. "She sounds like an amazing person. You must've been proud of her, since she was one of your citizens."

"I was," Iceland said, nodding to himself. "She really impressed me, as well as so many others. At the end of her journey, her feet were bleeding and she was in such bad shape that the people stopped to listen to her, seeing how serious she was…" he smiled a little, "I believe you know who the victor was."

A slow grin formed onto Latvia's lips, as he looked back at the Gullfoss. "That's so cool! I'm so glad she won."

Iceland hummed in agreement. "She was a strong-minded woman, and she will always have my respect," he pointed out towards the top of the Gullfoss, "We can't exactly see it from here, but a memorial was placed right there, in her honor."

Latvia's eyes scanned the waterfall, over the mist, and took in the unperturbed atmosphere. To think, this place would have been destroyed if not for the boldness of one woman. "I'll remember this story," Latvia told the older nation. "I will remember Sigríður's valiance in what she loved and wanted to protect…" his head lowered a little, and he smiled sadly. "I wish I could have been that courageous, during all of those years with…"

Iceland looked down beside him, seeing Latvia's bright eyes cloud with shame. He frowned, seeing the younger look like this. Iceland's right hand flinched nervously, as he brought it towards Latvia's vaguely shivering hand. _He still shakes…_Taking in a silent breath of air, Iceland grabbed Latvia's hand.

The smaller boy stopped shaking completely, and looked down at his hand. His eyes gradually worked its way up to Iceland's softening gaze. Latvia's head tilted slightly, as he wondered what Iceland was thinking.

"You dealt with so much, back then," Iceland told him, his voice reassuring. "Don't think, for a moment, that what you went through didn't take strength and bravery. You, Lithuania, and Estonia are inspirations."

Latvia could feel himself settle down, as Iceland said these words. After a moment of silence, he allowed himself to smile. "Thanks, Iceland… T-That means a lot…" tears suddenly began to form at his eyes. Feeling that his eyes were stinging with the tears, Latvia turned his head away and put his sleeve up to his eyes. "I-I'm sorry, this is silly of me."

"Latvia."

Latvia glanced back at the silvery haired boy, seeing that Iceland's eyes were still gentle.

"Your tears aren't silly," Iceland told him, in a serious tone. "Don't think you're weak for showing these emotions."

Latvia wiped the rest of his tears away, trying to pull himself back together. He sniffed, swallowing lightly. "I know… but it's already been nine years, since I broke away from the Union. It makes me feel horrible that I still struggle with healing from it," he sighed, looking down. "Lithuania and Estonia have always been stronger than me; especially Lithuania… He suffered more physical wounds than I ever did!"

"… Latvia, look at me."

Latvia did so, looking back into Iceland's reddish-violet eyes.

"You _all _suffered," Iceland firmly told him, not once letting go of the younger boy's hand. "Again, once more I'll say, you are not weak. Are you following?"

Latvia hesitated, and then nodded.

Iceland turned towards him more directly and continued. "That part of history is over, but I don't blame you for what you feel. I can tell you are heavily affected by it, and it created a scar, but, in time, you will feel better."

"… I… I suppose you're right," Latvia said, breathing out a low sigh. "You are…" his gaze became more focused and he smiled lightly, "and, starting now, I will tell myself all of the things you have told me, whenever I think otherwise. It's the only way I can begin to heal properly."

The corner of Iceland's mouth twitched into an approving smile, as he let go of Latvia's hand. "That's good to hear; that's a very good start. You wanna know something else?"

"What?"

"I think it's good that you've revealed these emotions to me, because that is the side of you that holds human traits."

"Huh… You know, you're right," Latvia replied, thinking about that. "I never really thought about that, before…" he smiled shyly and blushed, all of a sudden, "Thank you… for encouraging me. Lithuania and Estonia have talked about this subject with me before, but I never really believed them when they said the things you have. I guess… I guess I just needed to hear it from someone else."

Iceland didn't react to that, at first, but then permitted himself to smile a little. _He's confided in me, and he trusts me._ "No problem… I have something for you."

Latvia's eyes lightened up more. "What, you _do_?"

"Yeah, I do," Iceland said, reaching inside of his brown jacket's inner pocket. "Since we were just discussing your feelings about the Soviet Union, this is the perfect time to give it to you."

Latvia watched as Iceland pulled out an average sized, paperback book out from within his jacket. The elder handed it to him, and Latvia accepted it with both hands, looking at the picture portrayed on the upper part of the book. It depicted a very simple painting of a house and farm near a very blue body of water, mountains, and was surrounded by a hilly, green landscape. A few sheep were drawn up front, one grazing and the others staring off. Below the picture, the author's name, Halldór Laxness, and the title were written. _Independent People…_

"Estonia told me you liked to read," Iceland told him, nervously glancing away for a second. "He told me that you really like poetry and romance books and novels the most, and this story does include those themes, but this one reminded me of you and your Baltic brothers. It features a sheep farmer who decides to stop working under others, and live for himself and his family. Many hardships ensue, but he works through it all… It really is a good story."

Latvia smiled down at the book, holding back tears of touched happiness. Iceland had just given him a book of so much meaning. _He really does care about me…_ "T-This is great Iceland, it really is…" he suddenly closed the space between them and hugged the older boy, burying his head into Iceland's chest.

Iceland felt himself tense and blush heatedly, as Latvia embraced him, unintentionally pinning his arms by his sides. He couldn't help but feel awkward, for he hardly ever let anyone hug him—save for his brother and, on occasion, his Nordic companions. Other than that, it didn't happen. _Still, though…_he relaxed himself, _Latvia really has needed all of this. He needs to grow stronger within himself, and form new relationships with other countries. He's making progress, already…_

Iceland abruptly heard Latvia gasp to himself, and quickly break the embrace. He backed away a few steps towards the cliff's edge, holding the book closely to his chest. An embarrassed, horrified expression adorned Latvia's face, as he looked away. "I-I'm sorry, that was completely inappropriate. I'm sorry! Really, really sorry!"

_Or so I thought._ Iceland sighed lightly. "Why do you think that?"

"I invaded your space," Latvia simply answered, turning away a little more. "You've been so kind to me, all day, and I…" he sighed, "I'm doing it again. I'm letting my past affect me, again."

Latvia felt a very light pressure on his shoulders, and felt himself being turned in Iceland's direction. "Latvia, you shouldn't expect to be able to drop your current train of thought, just like that. It takes time. You did not invade my space, I promise you," he patted Latvia's right shoulder, and removed his hands. "Now, tell me, why did you think you were bothering me?"

Latvia flinched a little. "Well… To be honest, I made that mistake with Russia, once. He decided, for one day, to give me, Lithuania, and Estonia a day off. I was so thrilled about it that I, without thinking, jumped up and hugged him… He pushed me away to the floor, and told me that that was inappropriate."

"… So, that's why you're apologizing?"

Latvia nodded, still not making eye contact with Iceland. "Since then, I've tried to watch myself on doing that. Even with Lithuania and Estonia. They've taken care of me for so many years; I don't want to bother them anymore, especially with my impulsiveness."

"Latvia, you're not bothering anyone. I'm very sure that Lithuania and Estonia aren't bothered by you, either," Iceland said, gaining his gaze back. "They watched out for you, and I know they don't regret it."

Latvia nodded, thinking back. "I suppose so… but it was hard being myself around him. Russia had his better moments, a few times, but he constantly scared and belittled me. I was always afraid of making a mistake around him, and I did make quite a lot before then, but that incident made me feel extremely stupid…" he shrunk away a little, restraining himself from his spontaneous shaking, "and I've always felt inferior to everyone else, ever since the Union began."

"You don't have to feel that way anymore," Iceland advised him. "Really, you don't have to. Just remember what I've said and, if you want to vent, then vent to me. I want you to feel more comfortable around me. You and I are the same, after all."

Latvia's eyes widened, in confusion. "The same?"

"Yes," Iceland assured him. "Some countries may be bigger and stronger than others, but none of us are inferior to one another. You should believe that."

"I… I was told that I was, for the longest time, during that awful Union," a quick, bitter tone showed through Latvia's voice, "and I've always believed it, even up till now… You believe we really are all the same?"

"Yes, I do," Iceland told him, in a matter of fact tone, "and no one can convince me otherwise. Norway told me that a long time ago, and I have always believed him. Russia is not greater than you, nor is anyone else. Keep telling yourself that, whenever you think back to the past, and remember it for the future."

Latvia stared at him silently for a moment, before he revealed a soft smile again. "I will… You're so wise, Iceland, and so encouraging. I never would've thought you'd be like this."

Iceland could feel a slight heat rise within his cheeks, and he looked out at the Gullfoss. "I, uh… thanks, I guess. Like I said before, I want you to feel comfortable around me, and I want you to feel comfortable about yourself, too."

"I'll get there, eventually… especially if you're helping me," Latvia mentioned, turning a vague shade of pink, himself. "You're a great person."

Iceland pursed his lips, glancing back at Latvia for a moment. "Thanks…"

"You know, I can't wait to start reading this book," Latvia told him, opening its cover. He turned his back to the waterfall, so the moist air wouldn't touch the pages. "From what you've told me, I know it'll-AH!"

Iceland whipped his head towards Latvia, seeing that the younger boy's foot had slipped back on the slick grass. He was beginning to fall off the cliff. "Latvia!"

Just before Latvia could disappear into the mist, Iceland fell to the ground, on his stomach, and seized his friend's right wrist. Latvia's other arm held the book tightly against his chest, and his fearful, lilac eyes stared up into Iceland's. An expression of panic overcame his features. "Iceland!"

Iceland gripped Latvia's wrist as securely as he could, and instantly began to pull him back up. "Latvia, I gotcha! You're gonna be fine!" Using his other arm, Iceland inclined his upper body, easily and quickly pulling Latvia up. _He's so light!_ Iceland reached his other arm around Latvia's upper waist and pulled him the rest of the way up. They both fell back onto the grass, beside each other. Iceland was leaning on his side, while Latvia supported himself on his right elbow.

Iceland let go of Latvia's wrist, situated himself on his knees, and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Are you all right, Latvia?"

Latvia didn't say anything, at first; he just stared down at the grass. He finally breathed a shaky, "Yeah", without doing much else. Suddenly, he sat up and hugged Iceland fiercely, nearly knocking him over.

"Whoa, Latvia!"

"Thank you, thank you, _so_ much!" Latvia speedily expressed his gratitude, pulling away from the hug. "That really scared me! If I were human, that fall would've killed me!"

Iceland sat up. "Yeah… it might've… so, you're all right?"

"Yes," Latvia answered, nodding once, "and so is the book. I wasn't about to let this gift go!"

Iceland's lips twitched into a small smile. "Good. Here, I'll help you up," Iceland offered his hand out to Latvia, as he stood up. Latvia took it, and got to his feet, as well. As soon as they were both on their feet, a cheering scream sounded through the air.

"_Yeah_, atta' boy, Iceland! You're the hero, man!"

Iceland and Latvia whipped their heads around, in the direction of the sound.

"_Denmark_?" Iceland yelled out, in shock. The loud Dane was beside a large boulder, towards the bottom of the cliff behind them. Iceland assumed he had been hiding behind it. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Pft, what's it look like I've been doing?" Denmark snorted, grinning all the while.

Iceland groaned in annoyance. "You've been following us, haven't you?"

"Ja!" Denmark gleefully answered.

Iceland shook his head and sighed. "This whole time?"

"Ja!" Denmark replied again, "And not just me," he reached behind the boulder for something, and swiftly jerked it into the open, "Norway's here, too!"

Iceland's eyes widened in unexpected shock, and his mouth fell open. "_N-Norway_?"

Latvia, too, looked surprised by his presence.

Norway, obviously agitated with Denmark, snatched his arm out of the taller man's grip and harshly smacked his shoulder. "Way to blow our cover, stupid."

Denmark only chuckled, in response.

"Get over here," Iceland called out to them. "Both of you, now."

"Uh, oh," Denmark whispered to Norway, as they walked towards the youngest Nordic and Latvian, "We're in _trouble_."

This earned him another cuff to the shoulder. "Because of you, moron!"

"Norway," Iceland addressed him, when they reached him and Latvia, "I expect Denmark to do things like this anyway, but _you_? Why were you two following us, anyway?"

Norway hesitated for moment, his face showing a tad more emotion than usual. "Well… Denmark told me you were going on your first date, so I-

"WHOA, wait, wait… wait," Iceland exasperated, holding up an outspread hand. "Hold the reins, and back up… _Date_?"

"Aw, don't be shy about it, Icey! We like Latvia!" Denmark nudged Iceland's shoulder, "Good choice. I knew you'd do it, eventually!"

Latvia blushed and was speechless. He was unable to react outwardly. He stayed silent, just listening to the three Nordics go back and forth.

"B-But were not!" Iceland tried to explain, "We aren't-"

"Don't be so modest, Iceland!" Denmark egged on, as he roughly patted Iceland's back. "I _saw _you blushing."

_What? _Feeling flustered, Iceland felt the blood in his cheeks betray him and heat up. "But I-"

"I'm proud," Norway spoke now, "I taught you well, Iceland."

Iceland sighed heavily. "About _what_?"

"You saved Latvia from harm, and you've been a real gentleman throughout your date," Norway answered, nodding his head in approval.

"Yeah, that was _so_ cool!" Denmark cut in, reenacting how Iceland saved Latvia. "You just reached out, and pulled him back up like a champ," he paused and sighed dreamily, "And to think, I got it all on camera."

"_What_?" Iceland questioned, half yelling. "You tape recorded _that_? How long have you been doing that?"

"Well…" Denmark thought back, "A little before that happened. You guys were talking about personal stuff, so I recorded that, too," he took out the small video camera and held it up, "Latvia almost falling off the cliff was just an awesome bonus!"

Iceland tightened his lips into a straight line, as he glared irritably up at Denmark. Denmark flashed a toothy, excited grin back at him.

"Other than that," Denmark continued, using his other hand to dig into his long coat's pocket, "I've been taking pictures, too."

"Oh, God, why?" Iceland mumbled underneath his breath, as Denmark pulled out a small, grey camera. _I can't believe this._

Denmark shoved his camcorder into his coat's pocket, and activated the camera's memory. "I took pictures of you two in Central, on top of Perlan—Norge and I were, like, watching you guys from behind, on the other side of the window—when you guys got here-"

"That's another thing," Iceland interrupted, his thumb and index finger pinching the bridge of his nose. "How, on earth, did you and Norway get here before we did?"

"Oh, like I'd tell you!" Denmark laughed, still going through the photos he took. He then stopped on one photo and smiled. "Aw, you and Latvia look _so _cute in this one! It's the perfect couple shot!"

Iceland rolled his eyes, while Latvia still didn't know what to say.

"What?" Norway questioned. "Let me see that," he snatched the camera out of Denmark's hands and looked down at the portrayed picture. It showed Latvia hugging Iceland in front of the Gullfoss waterfall. Norway's ever steady expression softened into a saddened one. "Oh… They do… My little brother's going to leave me."

Iceland slapped his forehead into the palm of his hand and groaned in disbelief.

"Aww, there, there" Denmark put a comforting arm around Norway's shoulders, "he'll still be around, Norge. He and Latvia will have a nice life together, with all of us! Finland and little Sealand are gunna be so thrilled!"

"_Listen_ to yourselves!" Iceland shouted in exasperation. "Brother-"

"Yes. Yes, I am," Norway cut in, his tone dead serious.

"And you always will be," Denmark told Norway. "Remember that."

Iceland felt as if he were going to erupt. "Please, leave already! The both of you!"

"I… I understand," Norway said, looking briefly hurt, and glancing to the side. "We need to let you finish your date."

Iceland nearly had it, right there. He bit his lower lip, seething in frustration. "Whatever."

Norway nodded to himself, and then made direct eye contact with Iceland again. "You're not that little country anymore… It's time for big brother, that's me," he gestured to himself, "to step aside."

Norway began to walk away, and then halted his steps. "Iceland… say it."

"No."

"Say it."

"No!" Iceland repeated. "I will not!"

Norway whirled his head around, his eyes blazing dangerously. "Say it, _now_, and I'll leave."

Iceland huffed like a small child who hadn't gotten his way. "Fine… bror kjæreste."

Norway's fierce expression disappeared, and he softly smiled in satisfaction, at hearing his title being spoken in his own language. "Thank you… I love you, lillebroren."

"Yeah, yeah, you too," Iceland replied, crossing his arms.

Norway diminished his smile, and then began to walk away. "Come on, Denmark, let's not bother them anymore."

Denmark pouted for a split second, and then leaned down towards Iceland's ear. "I'll be waiting at your house. Tell me everything when you get back."

Iceland gave him a blank glare, in response.

"Denmark, stop pestering them and come on!" Norway demanded, still walking forward. "You're enough of a nuisance anyway!"

"Okay!" Denmark yelled back, starting off behind the Norwegian. Before he ran ahead, he turned back towards Iceland and Latvia. He puckered his lips, and then winked at the two before running to catch up with Norway.

Iceland could feel his left eye twitch for a moment, when Denmark made that face. _He's insane…Their both insane!_ He put the fingertips of both of his hands on each of his temples, rubbing them in small, circular patterns. His head was throbbing so much.

"So… what was that?" Latvia finally spoke up, after all this time.

"Stupidity, that's what," Iceland stated bluntly, taking his hands down from his head. "I'm sorry about that."

"No, no, it's fine," Latvia responded. "From what I heard, they think we're dating."

Iceland nodded, "Yeah, apparently so," he shook his head, placing his hands on his hips, "Ridiculous. Right, Latvia? … Latvia?" he rotated his head to look at Latvia, seeing that his expression was that of confusion. Iceland felt the surface of his skin chill. "Latvia…"

"Well… aren't we?"

Iceland fell silent, and his blood froze. His eyes rounded out in astonishment. _What…How…_Why_?_

"I-I mean," Latvia quickly spoke up again, his cheeks flaring in crimson, "in my romance novels, a date would be something like we've done today."

Iceland continued to stare at Latvia, his mouth slightly agape. He felt incredibly light-headed. _I need to lie down…He misinterpreted a tour for a date… If he says something along the lines of 'I love you', I don't know what I'll say! What do I do?_

"You asked me out, gave me this meaningful book," the younger boy held it closely to his chest, "and… I've had the best time, in a long time."

Iceland snapped back to the present, at hearing him say that. He tilted his head a little, and concentrated on Latvia's sincere expression. He… meant that?

Latvia shyly turned his eyes to the ground, and his lips formed a bashful, crooked smile. "You… You've been really great to me… and I've gotten to know you… just how great of a person and country you are," his amethyst eyes looked back up at Iceland again, "Since you've treated me to such a great day, I was thinking… Well… would you like to go out with me? To my country, sometime?"

Iceland stood there, numbed by Latvia's confessed statements. _He really thinks this well of me…_He still had no idea of what to make of this whole 'date' thing, for he never thought of it or cared… Maybe Latvia just really admired him, or something. It didn't necessarily mean he was thinking romantically, even if he did get the idea from a romance novel. _He is just getting out, after all. Relationships outside of the Baltic nations are still new, to him._

"Iceland?"

The older boy blinked, focusing presently on Latvia again. "Hm?"

"W-Well would you?" Latvia nervously questioned. His cheeks were still rosy, and he had a very faint quiver to his hands. "Would you like to go out with me, to my country, sometime?"

Iceland thought about it briefly, wondering what thoughts were truly going on in Latvia's head. When it came down to what he thought about the situation… It didn't really matter, anymore. Latvia said he had had the best day in a long time. Iceland didn't want to turn him down, in spite of context. In truth, he, too, had had a great day with Latvia. Why shouldn't he spend more time with him? _I don't know what I'll be starting from this, but Latvia's been happy today. I'm not going to ruin it for him, regardless of what he means or thinks._

Iceland finally lifted the corner of his lips into a smile, breathing a light chuckle. "Sure."

Latvia suddenly looked more excited. His nervousness was melting away. "R-Really, you want to?"

"Yeah, why not?" Iceland answered. "I would like to visit your country and spend another day with you."

Latvia smiled brightly, breathing a quick sigh of relief. "That's great! When do you want to set up a date?"

Iceland's breathing momentarily stiffened, at hearing the word 'date'. Latvia didn't say it in the other sense, but he still felt apprehensive. "How about sometime next week?"

"Yeah, I would like that," Latvia replied, nodding a few times, "and I would like to see more of this country, in the future. It's so pretty and I want to know more about it." He didn't mention it, but Latvia also wanted to see Iceland for himself more often, as well.

"That would be good, too," Iceland agreed, looking up at their helicopter waiting at the top of the highest cliff. "Say, we still have time left. Is there anywhere else you'd like to go, before we head back?"

Latvia thought for second, and then said, "A walk along any shore line would be great."

"We'll do that, then," Iceland told him. He began to walk forward, gesturing for Latvia to follow him. "I know just the one. It was even named as one of the world's most beautiful beaches… Have you ever heard of a beach having black sand?"

"_Black_ sand?" Latvia looked so intrigued now, "No, I haven't. You have a beach where the sand is black? Is it because of a volcano, or something?"

"Yes, that's right," Iceland answered. "I think you're-"

He abruptly stopped speaking, because Latvia had suddenly wrapped his right arm around Iceland's left arm. Iceland looked down at Latvia, as they walked, to see him smiling and faintly blushing. Iceland quickly averted his eyes back to the front of him, as light pink colored his own cheeks. _Well…the next few weeks are bound to be interesting._

* * *

**Yes, what can possibly happen from this 'date'? You will see, next chapter... Did anyone expect for Norway or Denmark to appear? Norway has a strong, big brother complex... I love him, for it.**

**Bror kjæreste - 'Brother dearest' in Norwegian.**

**Lilliebroren - 'Little brother', also in Norwegian (of course). **

**I hope those who read this enjoyed this first chapter. It was explained in my writing already, but I believe, if given the opportunity, Iceland would react in these senses. I have seen many people portray Iceland as cold and unfeeling, and I just don't see that. It is not true. He has a hard exterior, yes, but, as his profile states, he is "hot-blooded" from within (He is a volcanic nation, after all). As for Latvia, his profile indicates that he does long for affection. Who can blame him, after going through what he did during the Soviet Union?**

**I hope that, to everyone, Iceland and Latvia seemed to act like themselves. I really do love these characters.**

**Thank you, for reading.**


	2. Aftermath of 'Date' Part I

**I am very late in posting this next chapter, but I finally have it! I hope it will be enjoyed. Thank you, to all who read and reviewed. I always do apprciate what readers have to say, in response to what they read of of my work.**

**Also, before this next chapter begins, I wanted to briefly mention the woman Iceland had spoken of, in my last chapter. When I had decided to place Iceland and Latvia at the Gullfoss waterfall, and researched facts about the waterfall itself, I discovered who Sigríður Tómasdóttir was, what she did, and knew I had to incorporate her into the story. She was bold in wanting to preserve the natural beauty of the Gullfoss, and protected it with her great love for it. I admire her for her strength in doing what she had. Hats off to you, Sigríður, for protecting what you loved.**

**With that being said, I will now go on with this second chapter. It is sure to be an interesting chapter, I would think... and, yes, I will go ahead and say that I do support Iceland/Latvia. My love (not in a rabid, weird sense) for it is mainly based off of historical and governmental facts (that is how I mostly go about pairings, anyway, for Hetalia), though, aside from that, I truly do love the look and sound of it, as well (they are even around the same age range). Something really clicks for me with this pairing, and I can personally see it.**

**Okay, no more, on with the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Hetalia" or any of its personified nations.**

* * *

**Aftermath of 'Date' - Part I**

* * *

"Denmark, are you serious? Iceland went on his first date… and with _Latvia_?"

"Yeah, Finny, he did!" Denmark told him, over Iceland's home phone. He did say he would be waiting for Iceland to come home. "I caught the best part of the date on camera! Just wait till you and Sverige see it and the pictures I took!"

"You followed them?" Finland gasped over the line. "Why would you do that? A one on one date is supposed to be private."

"Norge did it, too!" Denmark defended himself. "Besides, I wanted to see how our little guy was doing, and, well, you know how protective Norway is of Iceland."

"Oh, that makes sense… but I still don't know about you secretly recording and photographing them."

"Ah, it's fine, trust me! I'm sure he's not mad about it."

"Mad?"

"Oh, I've gotta run! I'll show you guys the pictures and stuff next time we get together, 'kay?"

"Wait, Den-!"

* * *

Estonia hastily hung up on his previous call and began to dial a familiar number, briefly fumbling with the telephone's buttons. When all of the correct numbers were dialed, he put the receiver up to his ear and waited…

"Yes, hello?"

"Lithuania! Did you know?"

"Know? Know what? Has something bad happened?"

"No, no, nothing bad happened… Remember when Latvia told us Iceland invited him over to his home?"

"Yes, I do," he smiled to himself, "It was good to see Latvia looking forward to something-"

"It was a date!" Estonia blurted out, unable to keep the news to himself anymore.

The line fell silent for a moment. "Date?"

"Yes!"

"The romantic kind, not the scheduling kind?"

"_Yes_!"

"H-How do you know?"

"Denmark told me!" Estonia told him. "He and Norway saw them hugging and stuff! I already had a clue because, a few days ago, Iceland asked me what type of gift he could give Latvia; he said he wanted to give him a good souvenir. He might have said that as a cover-up, because he was shy about the date!"

"So, they were caught hugging… and stuff… and Iceland gave Latvia a gift," Lithuania recalled aloud. "Wow… I didn't know Latvia was interested in being in a relationship. He must be getting along well, after all… Anything else?"

* * *

"Poland!"

"Liet! Like, how's it going?"

"You'll never believe it!"

Poland gasped on the other line. "Ooh, gossip! Like, tell me what's going on!"

"Latvia went on his first date!"

"…" Poland suddenly burst into laughter.

"Poland, I'm serious! Latvia really went out on his first date!"

"Wow, like, I'm totally sorry," Poland cleared up, "but I never pictured the little guy dating! Who'd he, like, go out with?"

"Iceland!"

"Iceland?"

"Iceland."

"… Like, seriously?"

* * *

"Ciao! Italy here!"

"Hey, Italy!"

"Ah, Poland, nice to hear from you," Italy said, balancing his phone between his shoulder and ear. His arms were filled with pots and pans. "I was just about to make pasta! How is it over there?"

"Like, I just totally heard the weirdest news!"

"Ooh, really, what is it? Tell me!"

* * *

"Itary, that is improper!" Japan scolded over the telephone line. "I do not need to know about those young countries' rove rives!"

Ignoring him, Italy continued babbling over the phone. "Ah, but Japan, new amore is blooming between them! Don't you think it's great that after the Soviet Union ended Latvia found an unexpected love with Iceland?"

"… That is an interesting point, Itary. That is actuarry very insightfur, of you."

"Yeah… and Denmark has pictures!"

"Pictures? What kind of pictures?"

"Well, according to Poland, Denmark followed them and got pictures of them being intimate."

Japan's nose nearly bled from hearing that. "I-Is that so…"

* * *

The day after Iceland saw Latvia off, all of his Nordic companions crowded into his house and ambushed him with questions and praises of his 'gentlemanly behavior', stated by Norway. Denmark was still hyped up beyond belief, Norway was still obviously upset about "his little brother becoming an adult", and Finland kept informing Iceland to not "jump into anything too quickly". Sweden, however, remained mostly silent and examined Iceland intensely.

No matter how many times Iceland tried to tell them he wasn't dating Latvia, the group would encourage the youngest Nordic that he didn't have to be shy about it. Iceland gave up on changing their minds; especially after Denmark showed off the photographs he took, along with the video he recorded, when he and Norway stalked them the previous day.

In the midst of all of this embarrassment, the telephone in Iceland's house rang. Iceland eagerly left the main room, in which everyone was currently, and closely, watching the recording of him and Latvia conversing in front of the Gullfoss waterfall.

"Aww, it's just like a real, romantic movie!" Iceland could hear Finland gush about the video, behind him.

"I know!" Denmark followed up Finland's response. "That's our little man!"

_They're all impossible, all of them. _Iceland ran into the next room over, towards his steadily ringing telephone. _Why is this happening to me?_

He picked up the phone and raised it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Is it true?" an excited, familiar, female's voice sounded over the receiver, "I must know! I must!"

Iceland paused momentarily. _I recognize that voice…Wait…_ "Miss Hungary?"

"Yes!"

"Why are you calling me?" Iceland asked her, surprised by her sudden call. "What is it you want to know?"

"I asked if _it_ was true."

"If _what_ was true?" Iceland questioned her. "I don't understand what you're asking."

Hungary sighed impatiently and came right on out with her question. "Are you and Latvia in a sexual relationship?"

Iceland nearly choked on his own oxygen. He coughed a few times and slammed his hand against the wall, beside him. The phone fell from his hand and hit the floor. _What the…_Sexual_? _What_? How does she even know that Latvia and I have spent time together? Not like _that_, but-_

"Iceland? Iceland!" Hungary's faded voice sounded from the dropped phone, "Don't you dare leave me hanging!"

Iceland knelt to the floor and picked up the phone again, placing it back up to his ear. "W-Why do you think that?" he asked in a lower, softer voice.

"I heard about it from France."

Iceland furrowed his brows. "France? How would he know?"

"Oh, so it _is _true! You and Latvia are-!"

"No, no, no, Miss Hungary, we're not!" Iceland swiftly interrupted her. "To clear this rumor up, I just took Latvia on a tour around the south part of my home. We got to know each other better, but not in _that_ sense!"

Hungary scoffed on the other end. "That's not what France told me. He said you two were screw-"

"Please!" Iceland interrupted her again, raising his voice, "_Please_, just tell me how this started."

Hungary loudly pouted for a moment, and then began recalling how France told her about he found out. "Fine. France found out about it from Spain, who heard about it from Prussia, who heard about it from-"

As the list kept adding one country after another, Iceland felt himself grow more and more ill. _How many know about my outing with Latvia, and _who _started it anyway? It could be…_

"-who heard about it from America, who heard about it from Japan, who heard about it from Italy, who heard about it from-"

"Miss Hungary!"

"Yes, what now?" Hungary stopped naming off of the long list of names.

"Just tell me who started the rumor."

Hungary paused for a moment and then told him, "Denmark."

"… Denmark."

"Yes."

"Denmark started this."

"Yes."

"… I'll kill him."

"Hm?"

Iceland dropped the phone again and stormed out of the room.

"Wait, wait, Iceland!" Hungary yelled into the receiver, "I wanted to know if I could watch!"

Iceland felt the intensity of all of his country's volcanoes, active and dormant, as he swept back into the main room. Denmark and Finland were currently 'awing' at Latvia hugging him, in the video. Iceland tightly curled his left hand into a fist, while he picked up a medium sized vase off of a nearby table with his right. Without giving it any thought, Iceland harshly launched the vase towards the back of Denmark's head. It hit him successfully, clattering into pieces as it made impact.

All of the other Nordics looked at Denmark, now. Finland looked shocked and concerned, Sweden revealed no exact expression, and Norway had a minor look of amusement on his face.

Denmark reacted with slight recoil, and then turned his head around. "Iceland?" Denmark questioned, putting his hand to the back of his head. He looked very confused. "Why'd you do that?"

Without answering, Iceland swiftly walked towards Denmark's seat. When he was standing right before him, Denmark could see blazing anger in Iceland's eyes. This expression actually made him flinch.

"This… is _your _fault," Iceland grumbled, spreading out his fingers into a clawed form.

Denmark looked baffled. "Huh?"

With a livid screech, Iceland pounced on Denmark and encircled his hands around his throat. Because of the force of the jump's landing, the chair toppled backwards and hit the floor.

The remainder of the Nordics shot out of their seats and stood above Iceland and Denmark. Denmark was on his back, and his head was continuously being slammed into the floor by the young Icelander.

"You're," Iceland smacked Denmark's head against the floor again, "unbelievable! How dare you say those things and make us look bad! How _dare _you!"

Denmark was obviously floored, physically and mentally, and had no idea as to what Iceland was talking about, but the shock of being knocked to the floor was currently clouding his mind. Who knew Iceland had it in him?

"Shouldn't we stop him?" Finland asked aloud, turning to both Sweden and Norway.

Sweden shook his head and carried on in watching Iceland beat up Denmark.

Norway also declined from that. In fact, Norway was smiling with pride. _He gets it from me._ _Oh, Iceland… you keep making me prouder and prouder._

With an even harder, cracking sound of Denmark's head hitting the wooden floor, Finland grimaced and lunged forward, directly behind Iceland. "No one is going to the hospital tonight!" He grabbed both of Iceland's wrists and began to try and pry his hands off of Denmark's throat. "Iceland, let go!"

"No, let them settle it out!" Norway yelled out rather quickly. He was still enjoying the sight of Denmark getting beaten up by his little brother.

"No, this has to stop, now!" Finland shouted, as he kept trying to yank Iceland back. _Holy Martin Luther, I didn't know he was so strong!_

Finally, Iceland's grip gave way and he fell backwards into Finland's chest. Iceland immediately attempted to leap towards Denmark again, but was prevented by Finland. The older nation seized both of Iceland's arms, from behind and underneath, and held him back.

"Let me go!" Iceland shouted, still struggling against Finland's grip. "That skíthæll deserves it!"

"Yeah, let him go!" Norway popped up beside them, his eyes and expression demanding for Finland to comply.

Finland shook his head, still holding onto Iceland with all of his strength. "No, that could've gotten out of hand!"

"_Ow_," Denmark moaned, as he sat up and cracked his neck, "I didn't know Icey was capable of snapping."

At seeing Denmark sit up, Iceland inhaled sharply and tried to lunge at him again, despite his arms being held.

"Whoa, Iceland, calm down!" Finland exclaimed, struggling to keep the younger from loosening out of his tight hold. "What's gotten into you?"

"He spread lies about us!" Iceland spat, still glaring at the puzzled looking Dane.

"Lies…us?" Finland questioned. "Who is 'us'?"

"Me and Latvia!"

"What did he say?"

"H-He told everyone," Iceland caught himself straining for a breath, as he continuously tried to break free, "that Latvia and I were in an intimate relationship!"

"WHAT?" everyone shouted, excluding Sweden. The tallest Nordic simply widened his eyes in shock.

Norway instantly shot a cross look at Denmark and darkly shook his head. As he cracked his knuckles, Denmark began to feel himself sweat.

"Heh, heh, Norge, come on, now" he began to scoot backwards, "I-I didn't say that-!" Norway leapt forward and launched a punch into Denmark's face. The older of the two fell back, dazed. Norway then leapt on top of him and began to pummel him with more punches.

"How _dare_ you, you pervert!"

"Norge, please, I didn-_ow_!"

Finland cringed at the harsh noises of the throwing punches. "Norway, stop! We need to talk about all of this before assuming!"

"T-There's nothing to assume," Iceland angrily huffed, relaxing into Finland's hold, "That phone call earlier; that was Miss Hungary. She told me Denmark said those things!"

A look of disgust immediately showed into Finland's expression. "Denmark!" he scolded, "You spread rumors like that?"

"N-No, I didn't!" Denmark managed to say, as he held Norway back by his shoulders, with out-stretched arms. "Please, hear me out! Hear me out!"

"M'kay," Sweden lowly spoke out. His hard and steady voice rattled everyone's spines. "I w'nt t' he'r this story."

"Y-Yeah," Finland agreed, recovering from Sweden's tone, "let's listen to him, hm? So that there's no bloodshed?"

Norway continued to glare down at Denmark, but decided to go along with the other nations' ideas in 'retaining peace'. He leaned away from Denmark and knelt beside Finland and Iceland, who was still being held back. "Fine, Denmark, you have the floor. Just know this; if what you say is deemed invalid, by me, I will beat your sorry tail all the way back to Copenhagen."

Denmark sweat-dropped lightly and tensed, as he sat up again. Oh, yeah, Norway meant that, and with a fiery passion, in spite of his monotone threat. He knew very well that Norway was capable of doing it, too. "I'll tell you the only things I said…" he began, "You see, I told Finland over the phone that you, "he looked at Iceland, "and Latvia had gone on a date, and I got pictures and video footage. Then I went and told Estonia the same thing, because he and Latvia are close. I was going to tell Lithuania the same thing," Norway scowled at him, and Denmark momentarily silenced. "… and no one else, I _swear_, but Estonia suddenly freaked out, said he had to go, and hung up. I guess Estonia told Lithuania right after that, and then Lithuania told someone else, and the story kept getting passed on."

There was a silent pause, among everyone.

"That's all you said?" Norway questioned. "Nothing more, nothing less?"

Denmark swiftly raised his right hand, palm facing up. "I swear to God, I did _not _say anything about him and Latvia being sexually active."

Iceland felt one of his eyes twitch, and the tips of his ears heated up. That still sounded _way _too weird.

"… Fine," Norway concluded. "I believe you, for now, Denmark."

Denmark breathed a sigh of relief, as everyone else agreed.

"That's a good example of how a story of facts can be twisted into fiction," Finland said, releasing his hold on Iceland's arms and patting his shoulder. "People choose to interpret what they hear."

Sweden gruffly hummed in agreement.

"Iceland, do you believe me?" Denmark asked him. He had fixed himself directly in front of the boy, his face only a few inches away from the other. "I don't want you to feel badly towards me."

Iceland glanced away, folding his arms in front of his chest. "Yeah, I do… Just be careful of what you say, all right?"

Denmark grinned widely and swiftly pulled Iceland into a large hug. "Aww, Iceland, you don't hate me! I was a little scared there, for a minute. You've just never been so angry before!"

Iceland's nose wrinkled in thought. "Wanna bet," he mumbled into the older nation's chest.

Norway yanked Iceland out of Denmark's arms and shoved Denmark aside—to the floor, once again—in two, swift movements. He raised himself off of the floor, helping up his brother as well, and straightened out Iceland's brown jacket. "There, everything's taken care of."

Iceland groaned and stepped back, as Finland and Denmark raised themselves off of the floor, too.

"Sorry if we all made you feel awkward," Denmark sheepishly apologized. "We were all just happy for ya, you know? You going on your first date, and all-"

The alerting sound of the doorbell rang, interrupting Denmark.

"That's odd," Finland thought out loud, "Why would someone be here, this late?"

Iceland had just calmed down, and now his sense of agitation was back. He just _knew _this would have something to do with him and Latvia. _Stupid, absolutely stupid. _He sighed, rolled his eyes, and briskly walked towards his home's front door, leaving everyone else in his den. _I've had enough of today._

The doorbell impatiently rang again, just as Iceland approached the door. "I'm coming, I'm right here!" Iceland yelled at whoever was on the other side of the door. He put his hand on the knob, twisted it, and swung the door open. "What do you w-!"

He stopped all sense of movement and speech. He was truly not expecting to see the smiling, too cheery face and ominous form of Russia standing at his home's entrance. Iceland could feel an uncomfortable shiver race up his spine, as the tall nation greeted him with a "Hello", in Russian.

"R-Russia?" Iceland stammered a little, as he stared up into his lavender eyes.

Immediately after Iceland had addressed Russia, all of his Nordic companions showed up behind Iceland and piled around him and the entrance. All of them were either apprehensive or curious about Russia's presence. They all understood his reasons for coming, however…

"Oh, your whole gang is here," Russia acknowledged them, grinning softly. "How nice."

"Why are you here?" Norway asked Russia, adding a little bit of bite into his monotone.

Russia didn't respond.

"Let me guess," Iceland began, sighing to himself, "you heard about me and Latvia, right?"

"Da," Russia nodded. "I heard about it from Ukraine. I thought I would drop by and ask how it is going, between you two."

"Everything's fine," Denmark spoke up first. "The two are absolutely dandy, now if you don't mind-"

"Oh, but I want to hear it from Iceland," Russia looked down at the smaller nation with piercing, unwavering eyes. He had barely looked away from Iceland, since the door opened.

Iceland tensed slightly, narrowing his eyes. _He's acting peculiarly._

Russia stepped forward, inside of the house, and stood more closely to Iceland. He bent down a little, so that he and Iceland's faces were closer. "I just want to know how Latvia is," he leaned another inch closer towards the silvery headed boy and placed a large hand on Iceland's left shoulder.

The other Nordics leaned forward a little, waiting and watching for anything to happen. Norway, especially, was ready to jump if Russia caused him to. _Don't you try anything, don't you dare._

Iceland felt Russia's hand form into a grip on his shoulder and it tightened, causing him to wince briefly. It didn't hurt, but there was a sense of threat behind the gesture.

"After all… Latvia _is _my ex," Russia emphasized, in a more solid, menacing tone. His eyes seemed to glow, as his smile transformed into something more sinister.

Finland and Denmark gasped very lightly, while Sweden and Norway tensed. Iceland, on the other hand, did not react with a single facial expression or movement to Russia's statement. It was like the words hadn't even fazed him, at all. His heart and soul were, however, boiling with a hot, burning flame of odium. _His 'ex'… How _dare _he say such a disgusting, ridiculous thing! After all he's done to Latvia—belittling him, hurting him and the others, putting them all through hell… It's nearly been ten years, and Latvia still shakes because of this…this…_He now conveyed a hard, pointed glare directly into Russia's morose orbs of purple.

"Russia," Iceland strongly, yet steadily, spoke up, "Get your hand off my shoulder."

Russia only smirked in mild amusement, obviously not threatened by a nation smaller than him.

Norway was about to intervene, with a few choice words of his own, but Iceland spoke out boldly, once again. "I _said_," Iceland raised his right hand up to his left shoulder, and seized Russia's wrist, "get your hand _off_ my shoulder." As he said this, he yanked Russia's hand off of his shoulder and tossed it to the side. Before anyone was to say anything, Iceland began to raise his voice at Russia.

"Don't you _dare _try to intimidate me, Russia," he growled, squaring directly into Russia's space.

Russia, himself, even backed up an inch. He was surprised to see a country like Iceland flare up with emotion so suddenly.

"Do you have any idea of what you've just said?" Iceland sharply questioned him. "Do you have any idea of _how_ you just said it? You're obsessed with that poor nation!"

Russia flinched a little. His eerie aura dropped and was replaced with a mildly hurt, offended look. _Obsessed… I thought I was looking out for little Raivis._

"You threatened me with a touch of your hand, and the tone of your voice," Iceland continued, not pausing to stop, "I will not tolerate that. I am not only upset about that, but because of what Latvia's also told me about some of the things you've done to him, said to him… It's because of you that he's still afraid! It's because of you that he still struggles with an inferiority complex, and," his words pierced Russia's heart, "I _will _protect him from a monster like you!"

All of the Nordics' jaws dropped and their eyes widened. They were all so shocked, yet so impressed with Iceland's sudden boldness.

Russia now looked more hurt than anything else. It was obvious at how taken aback he was. _Monster… He thinks I'm a monster… W-What did I do wrong?_

"I mean that," Iceland told Russia. "I'm not going to let you interfere with his recovery. Now, get out of my house!"

"H-Huh?" Russia mumbled, still not sure of how to respond.

Iceland forced the giant out of his front door and onto his front porch, with a harsh shove. It didn't take much vigor to move Russia, because of his held up mind process; he couldn't think or react properly. "Just go home, and stay out of mine and Latvia's businesses. If I hear about you bothering him, or Lithuania and Estonia, again, I _will_ find and deal with you myself." With that, he slammed the door in the baffled Russian's face.

Iceland turned around, put a hand up to silence any words, and announced with a faintly tired voice, "No one say anything, I'm at my limit. I'm retiring for the evening. Good night, all of you." He walked straight past the silent, dumbfounded nations, briefly bumping against Sweden's side.

"Oh… my… God," Denmark awed, listening to Iceland go up the house's flight of stairs, "That was one of the most epically epic things I've ever seen, and I was a Viking!"

Finland, Norway, and Sweden all nodded in silent agreement.

_That…was very unexpected, _Norway pondered, his eyes revealing astonishment. _That was full blown emotion from him. For Iceland to stand up to Russia, like that, and even threaten him… He truly cares for Latvia._

* * *

**And that was chapter two, part one of the aftermath of Iceland and Latvia's 'date'. There will surely be more to come, especially after this one! **

**What shall happen, now that intensified and awkward (leave it to France to tell Hungary, an ultimate fangirl of yaoi, that the boys' relationship is... yeah... poor boys) rumors about Iceland and Latvia have been spread among the nations? Russia has already visited Iceland(I obviously mimicked the "Lithuania is my ex" comic strip), presented himself badly, and wound up getting himself told off by Iceland... What will come out of it? Iceland's dealings and annoyances are far from being over. So... Denmark should have just laid low on what he thought?**

**Sverige - Sweden (Danish)**

**Skíthæll - jerk (Icelandic) The word looks as if it means something stronger, though, doesn't it? ^_^'**

**I hope my interpretations of the countries was good, throughout, to everyone. I really enjoyed writing this, and I hope this chapter, itself, was enjoyed. **

**Thank you, for reading. **


	3. Aftermath of 'Date' Part II

**I am now back with chapter three of this story. Thank you, to those who have read and reviewed; I still appreciate it very much!**

**Quick, previous summary - The last chapter demonstrated how gossip can lead to exaggeration, and it definitely gave Iceland a lot of trouble. Dealing with his brother and other Nordic companions was already a handful (especially with Denmark), but then Hungary increased the drama. Then, Russia proceeded to make it worse... However, Iceland's emotions hit the roof (more so than usual; more so in fact that Norway could plainly see how much Iceland truly cares about Latvia), and he ended the problem... but it is surely not over. No, Iceland (and Latvia, too) has more to deal with. The story continues now. I hope it is enjoyed!**

**Disclaimer - I do not own "Hetalia" or any of its personified nations.**

* * *

**Aftermath of 'Date' - Part II**

* * *

As soon as Iceland had gotten to his room, and shut the door behind him, he walked the few steps over to his bed and fell face first onto it. _Ugh, what a day… I hated it._ He was so exhausted; his head ached and he felt short of breath. When, oh, when was this whole mess about him and Latvia going to stop? First Denmark goes and gives Estonia the wrong idea about a simple tour, and then this happens? _Now all of the other countries think I'm having those kinds of relations with Latvia. That's just sick! Hungary's called, Russia visited…What _more_ could possibly happen tonight?_

As he thought this, the sound of irony revealed itself in the form of a ringing phone.

Iceland moaned into his bed's comforter and wrapped his arms over his head. _I'm not dealing with anyone else tonight. Forget it! Why is everyone so interested in this, anyway? Bunch of perverts._

The horrible ringing abruptly stopped, which made Iceland sigh in relief. One of the others is probably dealing with whoever it is, right now. _guði sé lof._

The young nation's relief was short-lived, for his bedroom door soon opened.

"Iceland!"

"_What_?" Iceland groaned, curling into himself.

"Phone's for you."

"Yeah, Norway, I'm sure it is," Iceland sarcastically, yet monotonously, replied. "I don't want to speak with anyone, all right? I've had enough."

"Lillebroren, you have to take this one," Norway told him from the door. "It's Latvia."

Iceland immediately raised his head, his attention gained. "What? Latvia's on the phone?"

"Yes," Norway coolly replied, holding up the cordless house phone. "He wants to talk to you."

Iceland raised himself off of his bed and approached Norway. He reached out to take the phone, but Norway snatched it out of his reach and covered the phone's receiver with his other hand. Norway leaned into Iceland's ear and said, in a lower, quieter tone, "He's probably had a rough day, too."

Iceland nodded, agreeing.

"Be that gentleman you were before, all right?" Norway told him, raising the now uncovered phone.

Iceland rolled his eyes and took the phone out of Norway's grasp. He motioned for his brother to leave his room, with an insistent wave of his hand. Norway did so, shoving a peering Denmark out of the door's frame as he left.

Iceland took a short, hesitant breath and placed the phone to his ear. "Latvia?"

"Iceland!" the younger nation's voice revealed both anticipation and concern, "Have you been getting calls and visits, too?"

The silver haired nation sighed. "Yeah, and it hasn't been good. What happened with you?"

"Well, first of all, I got a strange call from Japan."

"Japan?"

"Yeah," Latvia said, also sounding confused. "It was really weird. Getting a call from him was weird to me anyway, but what he was rambling about was even weirder. He kept saying peculiar things."

"Peculiar?"

"Uh, huh," Latvia nodded into his phone, "He asked me what you and I were doing together. I don't know how he knew we met up, but he said something about me being a 'shota' type… What's a shota?"

"I have no idea," Iceland replied, knowing full well that it had to mean something wrong. _I'll have to research that…_

"Anyway, he hung up because he suddenly had ideas for a new manga series… Then, I got a call from France."

Iceland felt his stomach turn; especially since Latvia's voice held an undertone of apprehension. _Ugh, there's no telling what kind of perverted things France said to him._

"Again, he knew about you and me," Latvia reported, still revealing that touch of edginess in his voice, "and he said some… things… about us…" his voice began to quiver in hyped up anxiety, "and I hung up because he was freaking me out!"

"What did he say?" Iceland uneasily asked, though he knew exactly what it was. _France probably said worse things to him than what Hungary said to me._

Iceland could hear Latvia's body shift nervously on the other side of the line. He could practically see him trembling and blushing. "H-He, uh… He thinks that we… um… did something inappropriate."

"I got a call from Hungary, and she said the same thing," Iceland sighed, blushing a little himself. "She thinks we-"

"Did _it_!" Latvia blurted out, finishing for him. "They think we did _it_! Why do they think that?"

"It's Denmark's fault," Iceland bluntly put it.

"Huh? Denmark?" Latvia inquired. "What did he do?"

"He told Estonia about our meeting, overstated some things, and the story went on from there," Iceland briefly filled him in, breathing a short puff of air through his nose.

"_Oh_, so that's how Estonia knew!" Latvia piped up, in realization. "Estonia, Lithuania, and Sealand all stopped by my house today and asked me all sorts of questions about our date."

Iceland felt his cheeks heat up a little again, at hearing the word 'date'. Since Latvia said it was a date, and Iceland didn't want to say anything against it for the younger boy's sake, it would be even harder to convince everyone that they weren't actually dating.

Latvia continued speaking, "Estonia and Lithuania were really uptight at first, but then they relaxed and said how glad they were about how happy I looked. Sealand was happy about it too, and he said the same thing as Lithuania and Estonia—that I haven't looked this spirited in a very long time."

Iceland felt his heart pang in compassion from Latvia's words. He sounded so upbeat and content… _Really, I can't go against this. There's no way!_

"Um, uh, y-you said you got calls and visits, too," Latvia said, quickly changing the subject. "How did it all go for you, besides what Hungary said?"

"I… besides getting a call from her, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden all ambushed me over here," Iceland told him, sighing very briefly. "Denmark decided to show everyone the pictures and video footage of our… date… and I beat him up."

He could hear Latvia gasp a laugh out of shock. "Wow, _you_ beat him up?"

"Yeah, sort of… and then Norway helped."

Latvia laughed a little. "I don't doubt that! So, Denmark really is the source of why this situation got out of hand with the other countries?"

"Pretty much," Iceland replied. "He didn't say those other things about us, though. As the story got passed along, it got more and more exaggerated."

"Ah," Latvia responded, nodding to himself, "that makes sense… Thanks, for clearing all of that up."

"No problem."

"Did anything else happen to you, or was that it?" Latvia suddenly asked. "You sound so… stressed? You definitely sound tired."

Iceland temporarily froze and thought of what Russia had said—about Latvia being his 'ex'. That was what was bothering Iceland, but there was no way he could tell Latvia about Russia's visit. _Latvia will be scared if I tell him. I don't want to give him another cause for worry; especially not now. Russia took away so much of his peace, before… I can't tell him!_

"Iceland?" Latvia questioned, snapping the silvery haired boy back into his present mind, "Are you still there?"

"Y-Yeah," Iceland responded, swallowing quietly. "I thought I saw a spider, that's all."

Latvia cringed, but couldn't help laughing a little. "Heh, heh, so that's all?"

"Yeah," Iceland replied lightly, "that's all. Though, like you said, I am a little tired and stressed. Nothing else happened, besides the call from Hungary and visit from my brother and the others, but Denmark… Well, you know what he's like."

"I _definitely_ understand," Latvia told him. "It's no wonder you're so tired."

Iceland hummed in agreement.

"Well, since I know you're okay now, I'll let you go and get some rest," Latvia said, a faint blush coloring his cheeks.

"Thanks," Iceland replied, as he sat down on his mattress and hunched over. "I could use some."

"I can tell… Iceland," he began, sounding innocently nervous, "even though word about our date has spread around like it has, and contains untrue things, are you still interested in coming over here, to see my home, next week? I-I really would like to spend more time with you…"

"Latvia."

"U-Uh, yes?" he swiftly replied, feeling his cheeks flare up in a more heated flush.

"Of course I'm still interested," Iceland responded, his tone both genuine and straight. "A bunch of rumors shouldn't stop us from getting to know each other more. Don't worry, the situation will get better."

Latvia smiled, as he listened to what Iceland said, and clutched his phone a little more securely. "That's great… I'm glad you still want to. S-So, I'll see you next week, then?"

"You will," Iceland replied, allowing the tiniest of smiles to form onto his lips. "Bye."

"Goodbye." As Latvia turned off his home's telephone, he held the device in both of his hands for a moment, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. His glad smile had yet to disappear from his face. He then opened his amethyst eyes and looked up at his den's textured ceiling, feeling even lighter in heart than before. _Iceland…Thank you._

When Latvia's side of the call had ended, Iceland clicked his phone completely off and rested the phone beside him, on his bed. He fell backwards onto his comforter, sighing deeply. He was really hoping that this situation would get better, like he had assured Latvia it would.

_I guess all I can do is wait and see what happens next… _He closed his eyes, and, for the first time that evening, began to feel himself unwind. _That's all I can do…_

Tap, tap.

Iceland's eyes flew back open, at the sound. He knew that simple, yet wretched, noise was coming from his window… and he did not have a tree near his window to create that noise. _Oh, God, why? I have to deal with _another_ person?_

_Tap, tap, tap._

The pattering sound against his window was more hurried now, as if urgently pleading for someone to return its call.

"Ugh!" Iceland groaned aloud, flying into an upright position. He stood up and glared at the closed-curtained window on his left. _What _now_? Why can't I just be left alone? Why?_ He stood up and stormed over towards the window. _Oh, I can't _wait_ to see who's here this time._ Iceland threw back the curtain and automatically reacted to who was on the other side of his window. He stumbled backwards and let out a shocked gasp, for he was staring into the overcast face of the Russian he had so previously forced out of his house.

Russia's expression could barely be seen, because of the full moon's shadowing effect. He seemed to have been trying to see past the shielding curtain, for his face was nearly touching the glass. Now that the curtain was removed, Russia pulled his head back a little and pointed at the window's side latch.

Iceland, who was only standing a mere yard away from the window, shook his head with a definite 'No'. _He must be crazy to think I'll open the window for him! He probably wants to kill me!_

Russia pointed at the window's latch again, more urgently this time, and Iceland shook his head again. He opened his mouth to call for Norway, but Russia's next action stopped him. Russia leaned down, standing on whatever he was supporting himself on, pulled up a small, white rag, and waved it back and forth.

Iceland stared at the man with a blank expression, extremely confused by this gesture. Big, insane, daunting Russia… was signaling peace? _And I just tossed him out of my house… What is he thinking?_ Iceland dared to close the small distance in between himself and the window, to get a better look at Russia's face. Now that he was closer in view, he could see that Russia looked… miserable?

"Please?" he could hear Russia's slightly faded voice speak, "Please open the window. I only want to talk with you."

Iceland hesitated, holding a steady poker face as he gazed into Russia's distressed face. The logical thing would be for him to call Norway and the others…but he knew he couldn't do that. Russia really looked like he was being genuine in what he was saying. If he was angry about earlier, Russia might have just busted his window through without caring… unless that was Russia's intention, to make Iceland feel secure within his gesture of peace. If Iceland were to open his window, he would voluntarily be placing himself into harm's way.

Iceland sighed quietly and reached up to the window's handle. _Well, in a moment, I'll know for sure._

"I'll make this clear," Iceland said, as he lifted his window's pane, "If you're looking for an apology about my outburst, you're not getting it."

"I don't expect one," Russia told him, lowering the white rag and leaning his arms into a criss-cross formation on the window sill.

"Then why are you here?" Iceland steadily asked him, raising a brow, "And what are you standing on?"

"A ladder," Russia replied. "I went down the road to this little barn, saw it, and borrowed it."

Iceland's eyes faded in expression. "You took it without asking."

Russia declined his gaze a little. "… Da."

Iceland shrugged that off, briefly rolling his eyes.

"I just needed to talk to you," Russia said, as his down trot eyes met Iceland's firm gaze.

"You're angry," Iceland assumed.

"Nyet," Russia responded, shaking his head. "Sad."

"Sad?" Iceland mirrored his retort, tilting his head a little and narrowing his eyes in confusion. "About?"

"Sad… because you were right."

Iceland raised both of his brows and widened his eyes in astonishment. _What?_

"You said that I was obsessing over Latvia and the others," Russia continued, lowering his gaze to his hands resting on the window's sill. "I didn't realize I was acting that way… I thought I was looking out for little Latvia."

"Looking out for him..." Iceland pondered aloud, narrowing his red-violet eyes, "Then what was all of that 'my ex' talk about? That didn't seem like you were looking out for him, to me. It sounded awful!"

"I was just trying to intimidate you," Russia admitted, not looking up. "When I heard that you and Latvia were dating, I wanted to make sure he was okay."

Iceland looked at Russia's downcast form in scrutiny. "Really. Somehow, I find that just a little hard to believe since I understand the kind of treatment you delivered to Latvia and the others during the Soviet Union."

Russia flinched.

"You claim that you're looking out for them, but your violent records speak for themselves," Iceland rigidly reminded him. "I've seen, up close, the negative effects of Latvia's years with you. So, by all means, excuse me for not believing you. Do you have anything else to say?"

Russia didn't say a word and kept his face down.

Iceland felt a kindling fire burn inside of his soul. "No? Well, then, I suggest you go home now," he raised his left hand to the window's handle, "I don't want anymore-"

Suddenly, Russia grabbed Iceland's wrist and yanked it away from the window's opened latch. He then pulled the younger nation closer towards him.

"Hey!" Iceland yelled out, struggling against him, "What are you-mph!"

Russia firmly placed the large, gloved fingertips of his free hand over Iceland's mouth, which caused for Iceland to freeze. His stomach lurched, his eyes widened, and his skin chilled, as Russia brought him even closer. Iceland was expecting for Russia to yell at him, threaten him, or hurt him, but none of that happened. Russia lifted his eyes to Iceland's and revealed welled up tears within them. His expression was neither of anger nor scorn, but was, instead, serious and upset.

"Listen. I'm trying to get better," Russia informed him, squaring directly into Iceland's wide eyes. Russia's voice was very tense, and yet sincere, in tone. "I know I've done wrong. I know I've caused those boys and their people a lot of trouble. I've hurt them so much…" he swallowed harshly, as one tear slid down his cheek, "I don't expect them to forgive me, and I don't think I can ever establish common ground with them again, but I _am_ trying to get better…" his watering, purple eyes cast themselves away from Iceland's stunned expression to the sill below him. "I really am trying."

Iceland breathed deeply and soundlessly through his nose, as he watched the huge man in front of him shed silent tears of regret. He certainly wasn't expecting Russia, of all people and nations, to react in such an emotional way. Russia was truly remorseful for what he had done in the past, and Iceland could plainly see that as a fact. Iceland really felt that Russia was telling the truth, here… It was strange, to him.

Slowly and carefully, Iceland raised his free hand up to the large hand covering his mouth, meticulously curved his fingers around that hand, and removed it, placing it away from him. "You… really are being honest."

"Da," Russia responded, bringing his gloved hand up to his eyes. He allowed his grip on Iceland's wrist to loosen, and he let it go, placing it back on the window's ledge. "I know I've hurt them. I know it wasn't right. I just… I just wanted to see if Latvia was okay. I didn't want him to get hurt again."

A switch clicked within Iceland's mind. "You… wanted to know if I was going to treat him well."

Russia nodded, his face now a little clearer of his sudden, emotional stance. "He doesn't go out a lot; I know this because of what I've been told. I know he's afraid, and it is my fault… After the Union was broken, I started talking to God again.* I've been trying to make myself better. I still have a lot to accomplish and a lot of messes to clean up, but…" he let the rest of the sentence slide, and focused on Iceland's inquiring face again. "Is Latvia okay?"

_This is absolutely insane!_ "He… Latvia's withdrawing out of his shell more."

"Is he happy?" Russia continued with another, odd to Iceland, question.

Iceland could feel his brows furrow. This was _really_ the same guy who had once hurt Latvia? "… He is happier," Iceland warily replied. _I have no idea how to respond to him; this is just too freakin' weird!_

"That is very good…" Russia suddenly became more serious in expression, "Have you and Latvia…" he began to look really awkward and reacted as such, "Um… done the acts of the birds and the bees?"

"Ugh… No!" Iceland shouted out loud, grabbing at his hair. "For the_ last_ time, Latvia and I did not do that!" _Does the whole world think we did… _that_?_

Russia responded to Iceland's news by breathing out in relief, as if he were a concerned father. "Good. Very good… I can see that you are responsible, Iceland," he smiled, chuckling silently. "You are good for little Raivis."

Iceland's eyes jolted more openly, for a split second. "Um… thanks… but, I'll have to be honest, Latvia and I aren't really dating. I care about him, yeah, but-"

Russia held back another chuckle. "Oh, don't be so shy, Iceland. I know how much you care about Latvia. You showed me that you do!"

Iceland couldn't believe this was happening again. Why didn't anyone believe him when it came to this topic? "B-But we're just friends! I care about him as a friend!"

"Oh, sure," Russia replied, leaning his head on one of his hands. He had the most obvious expression of amusement on his face. "Then why are you blushing, little one?"

Iceland froze, in his unrealized, flustered expression, as he felt more heat burn his cheeks. _Why does everyone say that? Why? And what is _wrong_ with me?_

Suddenly, the door to Iceland's room flew open in a hurried rush. Iceland turned around, seeing that the person at the entrance was none other than his brother.

Norway had come to see what was causing Iceland to yell, up here. He and the others did not know if Iceland and Latvia were still talking on the phone, or what, but his younger brother sounded distressed. Norway charged up the stairs to Iceland's room first, ahead of everyone else. When he had actually opened Iceland's door and saw Russia's dark figure at the window, behind his dear brother, he felt beyond angry. He was sure that Russia had come back to harm his brother, for what happened earlier.

Norway curled his fists and charged all of the way to the other side of the room, grabbing Iceland's wrist and pulling him protectively behind his body. He then closed into Russia's face and menacingly glowered at him.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here, Russia?" Norway starkly questioned the morose eyed nation, his voice revealing a low snarl. "You were planning on hurting Iceland, weren't you?"

Russia barely batted an eye to Norway's fiercely spoken words and aura. He stayed quiet and watched the other three members of the Norse clan halt and pile at Iceland's room door. They, as well as Norway, all looked angry at the sight of Russia.

"G-Get out of here!" Denmark yelled, stepping farther into the room.

"You've caused more than enough trouble!" Finland seconded, stepping right alongside Denmark. "Leave Iceland alone!"

Sweden stepped up behind the both of them, glaring crossly behind his shining spectacles.

"Guys, wait," Iceland began, pulling Norway back by his arm, "I appreciate the back-up, but Russia isn't posing any threats."

"Then why is he here?" Norway asked, turning his head to Iceland. "If he's threatening you, you can tell us."

"Tht's right," Sweden agreed, shaking the atmosphere with his low, rumbling voice. His piercing blue eyes were more intimidating than they usually were.

"Say the word, and we'll toss him down!" Denmark added, wishing that he had his battle axe with him.

"No, guys, really, Russia's being civil," Iceland assured them again. "He came here to apologize."

Everyone now either looked confused or disbelieving.

"Are you sure?" Finland asked Iceland. "You swear you aren't making it up out of fear?"

Iceland rolled his eyes. "Do I look scared to any of you?"

Everyone paused, and then Denmark shook his head.

"No," the Dane said, "you don't."

"Then, please, let me deal with this on my own."

"But Iceland-"

"Norway, really, Russia and I were only talking. He actually came to apologize for what he said," Iceland explained, sighing slightly.

"Then why were you yelling?" Norway inquired, crossing his arms.

"Never mind that," Iceland told him, dragging Norway towards the others. "Just let me handle everything. I need to finish speaking with him. I've got this. I don't need help; I am grown up."

"… Fine," Norway replied, granting Iceland some authority, "but we'll be right outside. We _will_ be there," he looked directly at Russia as he said that.

"And you better tell us everything, when you two are through speaking, Iceland," Finland said, as they all began to walk out of the bedroom's door.

"Cause', you know, we'll pulverize him if he hurts you!" Denmark loudly stated, attempting to unnerve Russia.

Russia only remained where he was, calmly listening to everyone with a smile on his face.

Iceland shook his head, as he herded his brother and comrades out of his room. "I'll be fine, trust me."

With that, he shut the door, allowing himself to be alone with Russia again.

"It's nice to have people who care about you so much," Russia said, as the young Icelander turned back to him.

"I suppose so, yeah," Iceland tiredly muttered, while he walked back to his window. "Was there anything else you wanted to say? Ask?"

"Nyet, not really," Russia replied. "I told you everything I was feeling… You do believe what I was saying, right? That I am trying to change?"

"… Yeah, I do," Iceland replied, after a moment of looking into Russia's hopeful eyes. He could tell that Russia was serious about changing, which is why he defended him in front of the others, to begin with. "I believe you're serious."

Russia smiled softly. "And you don't think I'm a… a monster?"

Iceland paused, briefly thinking back to what he had said earlier. He truly had meant what he said, and he didn't regret saying that, but, now that he knew that Russia was in a process of change for himself, Iceland knew he had to clear the air and tell Russia that he was not a monster. After all, that part of history was over…

"No," Iceland said, reassuring him with an honest tone, "I don't think that anymore."

Russia's eyes then shone with gladness, which caused Iceland to feel a little better about the situation.

Russia reached one of his large hands up towards Iceland's head, and he patted the top of it, gently tousling the silvery white hair. Iceland felt himself tense up at the touch, out of awkwardness, but at least he could sense that Russia was not going to hurt him. This gesture was friendly.

"You're a good boy, Iceland," Russia told him, removing his hand. "I don't think I'll ever have to worry about you. You are just the kind of person Latvia needs."

Iceland didn't even care if Russia was talking about friendship or more between him and Latvia anymore; he was too tired to retort. He only responded with a small shrug.

Again, Russia chuckled. "I can see how tired you are, so I-" his face suddenly twisted into an expression of confusion, "… Hm, something hit my head."

Suddenly, a familiar voice shouted, "Less talking, more leaving!" from outside.

Russia slightly turned his body around to look towards the ground below him. The remainder of the Nordics was standing there, watching him intensely. He noticed that Denmark was holding a rock in his right hand.

"Oh, Denmark, it was you who got my attention," Russia acknowledged him.

"Are you done talking yet?" Denmark yelled up at him, tossing the rock up in the air and catching it in his hand. "We kinda want you to go home!"

Iceland popped his head out of the window and looked down at the others, sighing to himself. Norway _did_ say that they would all be waiting outside… Iceland hadn't thought that his brother meant it in the literal sense, though.

"I was just about to leave," Russia replied to the group of countries below. "I know it's late," he then turned back to the younger nation beside him, "I still have to return this ladder."

Iceland shook his head, mildly amused by that statement. "Sorry about Denmark and the others," Iceland apologized to Russia, stifling a yawn, "They're very… protective."

"And that is good," Russia responded, as he prepared to make his way down the ladder. "That means they love you… Well, good night, Iceland."

As Russia climbed down the long, wooden ladder, towards the circling Nordic nations below, Iceland knew that this was not over. His situation with Russia had been resolved, but there was no doubt in his mind that he and Latvia would still have every other possible nation in the world to deal with.

_I'll just keep watching out for him… I'll figure this out._

* * *

**Isn't Iceland just such a good person? He is kind to Latvia, supporting him and caring for him like he is (and Russia can totally see that Iceland has feelings for Latvia and trusts him X) ). He was kind to Russia, too, seeing how the man is truly trying to change. Russia is misunderstood, yes, but his actions during the USSR is not to be condoned. However, many of his bosses, as we know, drove Russia to the pit of his insanity.**

***When Russia said that he had been talking to God again, it was a reference to how Christianity and Catholicism (mainly) were brought back into Russia, after the USSR collapsed. During the time period of the Soviet Union, religion was suppressed and eliminated; Orthodox priests and believers were persecuted. These actions included torture and execution, imprisonment, and exile, as well as sending them to prison camps, labor camps, or mental hospitals. Many Orthodox believers, as well as those from other faiths, were subjected to psychological punishment or mind control, in order to force them to renounce their beliefs. Why was this done to them? Because belief in God was a threat to communism, I believe. When the Soviet Union fell, Russia's government began to embrace the church (Russian Orthodox Church) again, and thousands upon thousands of Russians became saved.**

**Understanding this, Iceland knows he can no longer hate Russia. He hates what he did to Latvia and the others, but he also knows that part of history is over. He is willing to give Russia a chance at redemption, though his brother and other companions are a bit more reluctant...**

**guði sé lof - Thank God (Icelandic; and, yes, this phrase is lowercased)**

**I hope this chapter was enjoyed. The next chapter will be the last of this story, but I already have a sequel in the making for it. I hope that it, too, will be enjoyed.**

**Thank you, for reading.**


	4. Aftermath of 'Date' Part III

**Hello! Here is the final chapter of this story, which was also my very first Hetalia story (though some of you may know that already)! There is already a small sequel for it that will be posted, titled "Storm", and I hope that it will also be enjoyed. Thank you, very much, to everyone who has clicked on this story to read it and/or left a review for me. It is always appreciated. :)**

**Disclaimer - I do not own "Hetalia" or any of its personified nations.**

* * *

**Aftermath of 'Date', Part III**

* * *

The very next week, just as they had planned for it, Iceland met up with Latvia in his home capital of Riga. Latvia was completely excited, though nervous, to see Iceland in person again and dragged the young Nordic all across Riga. He took Iceland to the Riga Central Market, the old Town of Riga (one of the World Heritage Sites in Europe), St. Peter's Church (Latvia informed Iceland about how much construction and reconstruction—due to cases with fire—the church had gone through over history, while they looked out at Riga from atop the church's steeple. Latvia also further spoke with Iceland about more of his own experiences within the Soviet Union, wanting to get more emotions off of his chest.), and finally the Latvian National Opera House, to see a performance Latvia had selected called "Eugene Onegin", a story of fragmentary love.

Iceland had enjoyed his entire day with Latvia. He saw and discovered so much more of the younger nation's history and heart. Latvia had become much more attached to him, Iceland could tell, during this 'date'. Latvia had willingly opened up to Iceland, and told him in confidence what more of his inner feelings were. This made Iceland feel glad to see more progression in his recovery, and he felt like he had grown closer to Latvia… and, unlike their last visit together, no one had seemed to be stalking them! Iceland had been very wary of their surroundings a few times, just glancing around for the prying eyes of any other nation. Thankfully, he did not see anything suspicious and was able to have a good, uninterrupted day with Latvia.

Latvia really hated saying good-bye to Iceland, after their entire day together had been spent. He really loved being around Iceland and wished that his homeland was closer in distance. There was just something so securing and so reassuring about Iceland's presence… From this date, he not only felt closer to Iceland, but there was this delightful, fluttering feeling in his heart that would not go away. It made him feel so nervous, yet so happy... As Latvia escorted Iceland to his plane, he couldn't help but wonder if what he was feeling was love. It was not the same kind of love he felt for Lithuania and Estonia, or even Sealand or Finland, but something… different... something so different and so wonderful.

Now that he was waving good-bye to Iceland, after embracing him out of happiness, Latvia couldn't wait to see and spend more time with Iceland again. He knew the next World Meeting was coming up soon, and it would be taking place in Reykjavik… If there was enough time after the meeting, Latvia hoped he and Iceland would have some time to talk or something… He really hoped they could, at least, go to Perlan, again.

* * *

"And _that_, my fellow nations, is why we need a total, kick-a robot army!"

"You bloody twit! That whole speech could not have been more stupid!"

"No hating, British dude! It made total sense! Anyone else agree?"

Barely a sound resounded through the meeting hall.

Iceland leaned his head into the palm of his hand, restraining the urge to roll his eyes. A whole World Meeting had been scheduled for America to talk about a stupid, robot army scheme? Well, it could have been worse. Everyone could be talking about him and Latvia, instead. Iceland had not been looking forward to having the entire mass of the world's nations enveloping his capital building, for he was absolutely certain he would be swarmed with questions from anyone who had misinterpreted anything that had happened between him and Latvia. It would have happened anywhere, he supposed, but it just felt so weird to have every country on his homeland. No one had said anything about him and Latvia yet, and Iceland hoped everyone had dropped the matter and moved on, but he still felt suspicious… No, there was no way it was over.

"See? No one agrees with your silly idea," Britain stated in triumph, crossing his arms. "What would it benefit to have a robot army in each and every nation? It would be madness! Besides, shouldn't we be investing our time and money into something more important?"

America paused and scratched the top of his head. "I guess… Anybody have anything going on, right now?"

All of a sudden, before any words were said, South Korea rose to his feet and rumbled a low cough in his throat to gain everyone's attention. "I have a question."

"Ah, yes, South Korea," Britain acknowledged the Asian country, "What do you have to say?"

South Korea quickly glanced at both Latvia's and Iceland's seats, practically bouncing where he stood. This caused for the pit of Iceland's stomach to knot. He knew it. The knowledge of the situation between him and Latvia was far from over among the other nations. Knowing that this was not going to turn out well, Iceland mentally braced himself. _Here it comes._

"I wanted to know if the sexual relationship between Iceland and Latvia was true!" South Korea declared, sounding both eager and energized.

Iceland smacked his face into his hand, groaning to himself. _He just _had _to say the 's' word._

Some nations remained silent, out of shock that South Korea said that aloud, while others gasped. Lithuania and Estonia were especially choked with astonishment. Latvia had only told them that he went on two dates with Iceland… Were those two actually being intimate? They certainly hadn't heard this, nor would they ever expect it to happen with Latvia! What was _this_?

France jumped to his feet and slammed his hands down onto the table. "Yes, _finally_! This is what I've been waiting to hear!"

Hungary stood up next, looking as equally excited as France. "Yes! Yes! I need to know! Iceland never let me know if I could watch them!" Little stars of enthusiasm danced in her eyes, as she squealed and wriggled in excitement.

Austria, who was in the seat beside Hungary, sighed deeply. _Here she goes again._

"L-Latvia," Estonia stuttered, looking down at the youngest Baltic sitting between him and Lithuania, "d-did you and Iceland really do… do…"

"Each other!" America finished, expressing his wide open mind of curiosity. "Dude, mind blown! You and Iceland were doing each other, after all?"

"America!" Britain raised his voice, standing up and putting his hands on his hips, "I thought I raised you better than that!"

"Um, big bruder," Liechtenstein whispered up to Switzerland, "What is everyone talking about? I don't understand."

Switzerland blushed lightly and wrung his hands. He had not yet discussed hormones or sexual matters with Liechtenstein. She had never outwardly demonstrated anything remotely close to those things. She was a mature girl, but a very innocent girl, as well; especially for her age. To answer Liechtenstein, Switzerland leaned down towards her and simply told her that he would tell her about 'it' later.

Sealand, who was sitting beside his 'father', tried to ask him what was going on, too. Sweden told him that he didn't need to know, and Sealand reacted with a stubborn huff of breath and curled his arms over his chest.

With both of his hands hiding his face now, Iceland sank down into his chair, feeling immense amounts of eyes staring at him. The uncomfortable horror of this situation had just tripled in size. He knew it would be bad, but it was much worse than he had anticipated.

Latvia was just completely red in the face and didn't know what to say to the inquiring nations around him. With an expression full of shock, he silently listened to various countries blurt out uncomfortable questions to him and Iceland.

"Aww, he's, like, blushing!" Poland gushed, as he leaned over in his seat, across Lithuania's lap. He wanted to get a better look at Latvia. "So totally cute!"

"Poland!" Lithuania scolded the blond, his face full of surprise and disturbance, "Give him some room! W-We need to figure this out!"

Estonia nodded hastily, shakily pushing his spectacles back onto the bridge of his nose. He looked as if he could faint at any moment.

Japan whipped a notebook out of his sleeve, while trying to restrain a nosebleed, and began to scribble things down into it. Italy, who was sitting beside Japan, watched him write with full fascination.

"Latvia," Lithuania steadily began, trying his best not to outwardly freak out, "I know you're growing up, and I know how happy you've been-"

"Ohonhonhon, _yes_!" France laughed aloud, unable to keep his excitement to himself. "Sex is a happy thing, no? Ah, and they're both so young, beautiful, and inexperienced!"

Hungary nodded swiftly, ogling the two boys with a strange look of glee in her eyes.

"Oh, for God's sake, France, they're children!" Switzerland yelled out, scolding the French man. "And there are other children here who don't need to hear this!"

Liechtenstein looked up at Switzerland, feeling even more confused than before. Whatever her brother was yelling about, it definitely wasn't good. _Do I even want to know what's going on?_

Sealand, who was trying even harder to get Sweden to tell him what everyone was talking about, still got no response—not even a hint. He tried to get Finland to tell him too, and the response was still the same. _I never get to know anything!_

Latvia, now even redder than before, sank down into his seat, like Iceland was. This was so personable and embarrassing! Why did this mayhem have to start?

_Disgusting perverts!_ Iceland thought to himself, not once daring to raise his eyes from his hands. He didn't want to look at anyone, not with the expression he had right now.

Prussia suddenly appeared behind Iceland's chair, shocking the other Nordics sitting around him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well done, fellow albino! We albinos are awesome! I'm still more awesome, but, hey, I'll give you some credit!"

"Sit down!" Germany demanded of his brother. "You are making it worse!"

"Aw, come on, West, he's becoming a man!" Prussia vigorously shook Iceland's shoulder and laughed heartily.

"Don't touch him!" Norway shouted at Prussia, as he stood up and slapped his hand off of Iceland's shoulder.

"You can't shield him forever, Norway!"

"Stay out of this, Hungary!"

"He should do whatever he wants!" she strongly retorted. "He's growing up!"

More countries then began to intervene and collaborate on the topic. A select few did not speak, others argued with each other—like Norway and Hungary—about what did and didn't happen, and the majority of the rest of the nations were directing their attention and questions towards Iceland and Latvia. Some had even gotten out of their seats to approach Iceland and Latvia, themselves. None of them got a single word out of the two, young nations, no matter what was said and asked. Iceland was too upset to even look at anyone, while Latvia sat quietly in his seat, unsure of what to say or do.

"Guys, _guys_, can you all just leave Iceland and Latvia alone?" Denmark loudly boomed above everyone, as he, too, stood up. When everyone settled down, because of his outburst, Denmark spoke up again. "It's not fair to make them feel so awkward! What they do behind closed doors is none of your businesses!"

"Denmark!" Iceland yelled out, finally removing his reddened face from his hands. He looked up at the large Nordic with fuming eyes. "You _know _that isn't-!"

"Well, _you_ never let me know if I could watch, Iceland!" Hungary interrupted him, as she leaned down beside his chair. "And Japan wanted me to ask you if he could base a beautiful thing called a 'yaoi manga' on you and Latvia, as well."

Everyone now focused on Japan, who had momentarily stopped jotting away into his notebook. Italy, who had been watching Japan write, now had his eyes covered by Romano, who had happened to catch a glimpse of Japan's 'material'. Japan glanced from side to side, and quietly lowered his notebook underneath the table. "Hai, it is true."

China gasped to himself, shaking his head. _How improper!_

Iceland knew very well what the term 'yaoi' stood for, because he had researched the word 'shota' a few weeks ago, after Latvia had told him what Japan had referred to him as… It was sick. Disgusting, perverted, and sick. The images he had been so unfortunate to see, which had popped up within his Internet search's result, now had his mind permanently scarred. How could Japan write about _that_? Why was sexual intercourse between two males such a popular thing anyway? It made Iceland shudder to imagine what Japan and Hungary were thinking.

In response to Hungary, Iceland turned his face to her and simply said, "No," loud and clear.

"It's too private. I shouldn't have considered it. Forgive me for asking, Icerand-san," Japan quickly apologized, trying his best not to blush too much.

"But I want to know details!"

"And I want-"

"France, Hungary," Norway strongly addressed the two, moving in between them and Iceland, "Leave him alone. You two, and so many others here, are acting immaturely about this."

"Agreed," Austria sided with the Nordic, shooting disapproving glances towards Hungary and France.

Hungary pouted and crossed her arms, as did France.

Iceland mentally thanked his brother within his thoughts, as his poor head thumped from stress. Norway would surely take care of the problem.

"You all need to settle down, now," Norway spoke out, with a vague monotone, "I can honestly tell you all, right now, how much of a gentleman Iceland is."

Iceland could feel his eyes widen and felt flaming heat burn within his cheeks. No… Norway was actually going to go there. He was _truly _going to make this worse. _Screw my luck._

"He courted Latvia in a manner that was not inappropriate," Norway continued, captivating the entire room of nations with his words. "He treated Latvia with respect and encouragement and even saved him from danger, during their outing-"he stopped speaking, for Iceland had reached up and tugged on his brother's sleeve. Norway leaned over and moved his face towards Iceland's. "Yes, lillebroren?"

"Norway," Iceland tiredly yet sternly began, as he looked directly into his older brother's violet eyes, "Shut up."

"_Saved_ him?" Estonia and Lithuania blurted out loud, looking worried. Latvia hadn't told them anything about experiencing danger on his date.

"What happened?" Japan inquisitively asked, raising his notebook to the table again.

"Oh, please, tell!" Spain spoke up, his eyes softening in their widened stance. "This story sounds so hermosa, mi amigo!"

Hungary nodded wildly, staring down at the youngest Nordic.

Finland, seeing the annoyance and distress in Iceland's eyes, stood up and spoke out above the other nations. "We should move on to another topic. I know, let us discuss the current effects of global warm-"

"Shut it, Tino!" Hungary roared, causing for almost everyone to jump (Prussia and Austria were even clinging onto each other, from Hungary's outburst). "I wanna hear the story!"

Finland, feeling defeated, plopped back down into his chair and leaned into it. He was absolutely speechless.

"Dn't talk t' m'wife like th't," Sweden firmly mumbled towards Hungary, his eyes glaring.

Finland, now feeling Iceland and Latvia's pain, sank down into his seat and turned a light shade of red. Why did Sweden have to call him his wife in front of everyone? It was always so weird and embarrassing, to him!

Once Sweden had uttered the word 'wife', Hungary and France became even more excited and began to pester Sweden and Finland about their relationship. More nations got involved, just like they had with Iceland and Latvia, and began to argue back and forth about what was true and what wasn't (Denmark was not making Sweden and Finland's situation any better than he had made Iceland and Latvia's). Anything that could have been discussed for this meeting had completely flown out of the window. The most important subject, thanks to France and Hungary especially, was now about sexual relationships between male nations.

"And I bet Austria and Switzerland have done it, too!" France yelled out, adding to the pandemonium.

"WHAT?" Switzerland jumped to his feet and slammed his fists on the table. His face was reddening from anger and mortification of being mentioned in this.

"Your tension between each other is just sexual tension!" France declared his opinion.

Hungary paused and thought about that. _He does have a bit of a point…I don't mind it._

Prussia, who was standing beside Austria, began to point and laugh at him. "I get it now! I get it!"

Austria, who was also red in the face, spoke out against him. "Get _what_, if I may ask?"

Prussia didn't answer. He just kept laughing and pointing.

Switzerland, who had had enough of all of the nonsense, whipped out his pistol and began to charge towards France and Prussia. The two nations yelped at the sight of the gun, and they began to run around the long table with Switzerland chasing them.

"I'll shoot you both until you are dead! I swear it!" Switzerland shouted, firing an attempted shot at the two, running nations.

Some nations screamed and ducked, while others tried to physically stop Switzerland from destroying the inside of Iceland's capital building.

While this chaos was going on around them, and with the main focus being off of him and Latvia, Iceland believed it was the perfect time to make a getaway. He looked over at Latvia, who was still sitting in his seat. He was watching Germany trying to capture the angered Switzerland. _I'll get Latvia out of here, too. He could use a break. _

With that thought in mind, and a quick glance around to make sure no one—especially his brother or the other Nordics—was looking, Iceland quietly slipped himself out of his chair and underneath the meeting table. He quickly crawled over to where Latvia was, hearing something crash from outside, and placed a hand on the younger boy's knee.

Latvia jumped for a moment, and then looked down to see Iceland's head peek out from underneath the table. He breathed out and smiled in relief, but he was also very amused that Iceland had gotten to him from underneath the table. It seemed so uncharacteristic!

"I'm going to grab your hand, and we're going to run, all right?" Iceland whispered up to Latvia, making sure Lithuania and Estonia couldn't hear him. "This meeting's gotten way out of hand, so I thought we'd go somewhere else."

Latvia held his breath for a moment and nodded affirmatively. This whole ordeal felt like a scenario in one of his books! It was kind of exciting.

"Okay, on the count of three, we're going to run for the door," Iceland reminded Latvia, slowly moving himself out from underneath the table. "Ready?"

Latvia nodded, feeling his heart pound in anticipation.

"Okay. One."

Iceland grabbed Latvia's left hand with his right.

"Two."

Iceland got completely out from underneath the table, though he was still crouched to the ground. He looked up at Latvia.

"_Three_."

Iceland bolted to his feet, as did Latvia, and the two ran for the nearest exit. Without hesitating, Iceland opened up the door and, with Latvia in tow, escaped from the frenzied room. They would not stop running until they were outside of the capital building.

"There, now that that's been taken care of," Germany began, pocketing the pistol he had forcibly taken from Switzerland, "let us be more in order. We are supposed to be mature countries, not children!"

Switzerland crossed his arms, muttering a few curse words in Swiss-German, as he stomped his way back to his seat. France, Prussia, and Hungary also sat back down into their seats, along with anyone else who had been standing up.

"We are going to discuss economic problems, now," Germany informed everyone, taking control of the meeting. "No robots, no mentions of sex or anything associated with it. We are not going to talk about it! Have I made myself clear?"

"Iceland?" Norway looked from side to side, scanning his eyes all over the room. "Where did he go?"

Germany sighed, as his shoulders slumped. Nothing was going to be accomplished today.

"Iceland left?" Lithuania questioned the Nordic.

"Latvia's gone, too!" Estonia spoke up, looking down at the empty chair in between him and Lithuania.

"Is anyone else missing?" Finland asked the crowd of nations.

Everyone looked around, declaring that every other country was accounted for other than Iceland and Latvia.

"They snuck off together!" awed Hungary, as little hearts appeared in her eyes. "How sweet and adorable!"

Liechtenstein, finally understanding a little more of the situation through observation, smiled and nodded. She was guessing that Iceland and Latvia loved each other, or something, and thought it was cute.

"Did anyone see them leave?" America asked everyone. "Anyone at all?"

Most shook their heads and spoke quietly amongst themselves about it. Neither the Nordics nor the Baltics saw them leave, even though Iceland and Latvia had been right beside them.

"They must have reft during the fight," Japan commented aloud. "I certainry don't brame them. Those poor young peopre were so embarrassed today. We should reave them arone and ret them have time to themserves."

Agreeing with Japan's words, and with some feeling a little ashamed of themselves, the nations pulled their attention back to the meeting and began to try and start an economic topic.

"You really didn't see them leave?" Estonia leaned over and whispered to Lithuania. He was just so shocked that Iceland and Latvia had slipped right out of the room with no one noticing.

Lithuania shook his head. "I didn't. They must have been really pushed to their limits to sneak out."

Estonia nodded, agreeing. He and Lithuania felt badly, now that they thought about how much embarrassment those two had to have felt.

"I swear, I didn't see them," Denmark told Norway, since the younger Nordic had asked him if he saw his brother leave.

"I didn't either," Finland said, shaking his head.

"Or me," Sweden added.

"Me either," Sealand put his two cents in. "I was too busy watching Switzerland shoot at people. It was cool!"

"… " Norway sighed quietly, as he settled back into his seat. "Interesting."

"Interesting?" Denmark repeatedly questioned. "What is?"

"Nothing, just a thought I had," Norway monotonously replied, averting his eyes to Britain, who was currently speaking aloud. _My thoughts from before are still confirmed… Iceland really does care about Latvia…He's growing up so well._

Canada sighed, as he sagged into his chair. "No one heard me, at all. I said I saw where they went, but no one heard me."

"I heard you, Canada," Russia told the quiet country, turning his cheery face to him. "I, too, saw them leave."

"Y-You did?" Canada squeaked, feeling intimidated by the large nation.

"Da," Russia responded, as he looked towards the door he had seen Iceland and Latvia sneak out of. He had even seen Iceland lower himself underneath the table, while the big fuss between Switzerland, France, and Prussia was going on. Russia knew that Iceland would go to Latvia's seat, and he did. When Latvia made that innocently happy face, as he had looked down at Iceland on the floor, Russia couldn't help but feel glad for the young boy. He had rarely ever seen Latvia look that happy, if happy at all… As Russia had told Iceland a few weeks ago, he knew Iceland was good for Latvia. He had just seen Latvia smile… That was what convinced him.

"What do you think about it?" Canada timidly spoke up to Russia, again. He had no idea what to think of how Russia would react, since Russia had owned Latvia and the other Baltics for all of those years during the Soviet Union.

Russia, still smiling, looked back down at Canada and said, "I think it is a good thing."

Canada felt a little shocked and asked Russia why he thought that.

"Because… Little Latvia is now happier."

* * *

"I'm sorry about all of that, Latvia," Iceland apologized to the young Baltic, as they came to a halt from their running. They were now outside of his capital building.

"No, don't feel bad," Latvia quickly assured him, "It wasn't your fault, or anything. I just feel bad that our dates have caused such an uproar… You don't have to spend time around me anymore, if it bothers you."

Iceland immediately looked in Latvia's direction, seeing a sad gleam in his eyes. "Latvia…" he shook his head, "The situation may bother me, but I don't regret spending time with you."

Latvia's eyes now looked a little more hopeful. "R-Really?"

"Yes," Iceland told him. He still had not let go of Latvia's hand. "Just because everyone else is acting stupidly about this, doesn't mean that we shouldn't still be around each other. I've told you that before."

Latvia smiled a little, lightly tightening his grip on Iceland's hand. "You enjoy spending time with me?"

Iceland nodded once, reassuring the younger boy. "Yes, I do. You are a very good person and friend, Latvia."

Latvia blushed a little, and he glanced away to the ground. "Thanks… You've been so supportive of me, Iceland. I really do enjoy our time together."

Iceland smiled on the inside, holding a gentle expression in his eyes. He honestly felt good that he could help Latvia start feeling better about himself and give him some peace. "Me too. Say, why don't we go head over to Perlan now, and get some of my country's hot cocoa?"

Just like the last time Iceland had mentioned hot cocoa, Latvia looked up at him with childish innocence and excitement. Iceland loved seeing Latvia look freer about himself.

"I would love that!" Latvia agreed. He felt happy that he and Iceland were going to Perlan again and would sit and talk more. He had been hoping for that this whole time. "We'll just go now?"

"Yep, now," Iceland told him. "I'm not going back in there," he referred to his capital building, "Not after all of that… and whatever damage Switzerland has done in that room, he can pay for himself."

Latvia snickered briefly. "Switzerland _hates_ spending money."

Iceland nodded to himself, a satisfactory, impish glint appearing in his eyes. "I know."

Latvia laughed a little more, as he and Iceland started off towards Perlan. Latvia didn't know if Iceland had noticed, but the older boy had not yet let go of his hand. This made Latvia feel good inside, for some reason. Feeling a burst of happiness, Latvia eased himself closer to the older boy and wrapped his other arm around Iceland's arm. Iceland didn't stop walking or say anything, but he did look down at Latvia once, revealing a faint blush on his cheeks. Just before Iceland turned his face to the front of them again, Latvia swore he saw the smallest of smiles appear onto Iceland's lips.

_I feel so close to Iceland_, Latvia thought, as his heart continued to pound with that wonderful, airy feeling from before. _I really care about him, and I know he cares about me, too. He's helped me so much…I feel so good around him, and I think I…I think I…Maybe one day, Iceland…I can tell you… _

* * *

_**And **_**this will lead on into the sequel that I mentioned, before this chapter began. This chapter... very, _very _entertaining for me to write (France + Hungary + Japan = Perverted Friends Trio ^^' The dreaded yaoi manga!). I hope it was entertaining to read. X) Poor Iceland and Latvia, though; this _would_ be a rough day. I hope I had every country focused on written well, character wise, and that over all impact of this chapter and entire short story was good. I have had a great time with this story.**

**Russia, here, I personally believe he would be hoping for better outcomes for the Baltics, now that his country is in a process of change. **

**Iceland and Latvia, they are close in reality and, naturally, would be in this story. As for Latvia's last line, it could mean a few things (some more obvious then others, of course), but, in the sequel its meaning will be revealed. According to his profile, I will say again, Latvia is a character who likes and longs for affection. On Iceland's profile, he is reserved on the outside, but passionately blooded on the inside. When I put these two together, I see something working out. It is not hard for me to believe that Latvia would warm up to Iceland, and Iceland would feel protection towards Latvia and open up more so with him.**

**Also, I hope I wrote Sweden's jumbled speech well enough. I tried. ^^'**

**Lillebroren - Little brother (Norwegian) In case it was not caught before.**

**Hermosa - Beautiful (Spanish)**

**Mi amigo - My friend (Spanish, duh ^^')**

**Once again, I hope this was enjoyed! Thank you, for reading!**


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